Physics for Modern Radiotherapy Course

Physics for Modern Radiotherapy Course (A Joint Course for Clinicians and Physicists) is organized by European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and will be held from Sep 08 - 12, 2019 at Tallink Hotel Riga, Riga, Latvia.

Target Audience:
• The course is primarily aimed at: 
• Trainees in radiation oncology or radiation physics 
• Radiation oncologists and medical physicists early in their career

Prerequisites:
The participants are invited to prepare treatment plans for selected clinical cases (homework) based on case descriptions and CT scans as provided prior to the course. During the course the plans are discussed in small groups regarding selected treatment techniques, planning solutions, constraints and objectives, choice of margins, protocols for image guidance, QA, etc, guided by a clinician and a physicist.

This course aims to: 
•  Provide knowledge and understanding of physics relevant to modern clinical radiotherapy 
• Provide comprehensive overviews of imaging and volume concepts in radiotherapy 
• Discuss modern dose delivery techniques, such as IMRT, rotational therapy (VMAT, helical tomotherapy), S(B)RT, IGRT, adaptive therapy (ART), particle therapy and brachytherapy 
• Discuss safety issues in lectures on commissioning and QA/QC, radiation protection, in vivo dosimetry and induction of secondary tumours.

Course Content:
1. Lectures on:

• IMRT/VMAT - physics aspects, clinical application and impact
• Stereotactic radiotherapy (cranial and extra-cranial)
• Rotational therapy (VMAT, helical tomotherapy)
• Particle therapy (electrons, protons, ions)
• Volumes in external beam radiotherapy Imaging for GTV definition
• Imaging for GTV definition
• Imaging for treatment preparation and planning
• PTV margin calculation
• IGRT (equipment for in-room imaging, set-up correction strategies, clinical examples)
• Adaptive radiotherapy
• Dose prescription and plan evaluation
• Field junctions (how, when, and alternatives)
• Commissioning and Quality Assurance/Control of equipment and software
• Brachytherapy
• Radiobiology in the clinic
• Implementing patient-specific dosimetric QA
• Radiation Protection andrisk analysis
• Induction of secondary tumours. 

Specific for clinicians:
• Basic radiation physics
• Dose calculation: principles and application in the TPS
• Principles of radiotherapy equipment
• Physical principles of advanced radiotherapy.

Specific for physicists:
• Reference and non-reference dosimetry
• Modern dose calculation algorithms
• QA for advanced delivery techniques
• Oncologic concepts

2. Clinical case discussions:
The participants are invited to prepare treatment plans for selected clinical cases (homework), based on case descriptions and CT scans as provided prior to the course. During the course, the plans are discussed in small groups, groups regarding selected treatment techniques, planning solutions, constraints and objectives, choice of margins, protocols for image guidance, QA, etc, guided by a clinician and a physicist.

Objectives:
By the end of this course participants should be able to:
• Discuss and select modern treatment techniques based on their pros and cons\
• Select physics and technical measures that enhance effective and safe application of radiation therapy

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.