Course Director

Claudio Fiorino, Physicist, Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele, Milan, (IT)

Teachers

Renaud de Crevoisier, Radiation Oncologist, Centre Eugène Marquis, Rennes (FR)
Giovanni Mauro Cattaneo, Physicist, Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele, Milan (IT)
Uwe Oelfke, Physicist, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg (D)
Coen Rasch, Radiation Oncologist, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam (NL)
Marco Schwarz, Physicist, ATreP, Agenzia Provinciale per la Protonterapia, Trento (IT)
Dirk Verellen, Physicist, UZ Brussel (VUB), Brussels (BE)

Course aim

 To evaluate:

1. The scientific basis of IMRT and Conformal Therapy
2. The technical aspects of treatment preparation and treatment delivery
3. The quality assurance of the various procedures
4. The practical implementation of inverse planning optimization
5. The latest developments in new IMRT irradiation modalities
6. The clinical aspects of IMRT, including clinical outcome and site-by-site specific issues

Target Group

The course is aimed at radiation oncologists, radiation physicists and radiation technologists involved in the implementation of advanced techniques in their department. Basic knowledge of radiation oncology and radiation physics are a prerequisite. Some experience in addition, of CT-based treatment planning will be an asset. The registrants will preferably be ‘graduates’ of the ESTRO course on ‘Physics for Clinical RT’ or an equivalent training in radiation physics. Simultaneous participation of a physicist, a clinician and a radiation technologist from the same institute is encouraged.

Educational programme

·          Rationale of 3DCRT/IMRT
·          Delivery modalities
·          Dosimetry and commissioning
·          Quality Assurance
·          Imaging and contouring
·          Physical and biological inverse planning optimization
·          Dose-volume constraints
·          Impact of motion and geometrical uncertainties on IMRT
·          Site-by-site clinical experience
·          Hypofractionation and IMRT
·          IGRT and IMRT
·          Integral dose and secondary cancer induction
·          Arc IMRT including Tomotherapy

Practical demonstrations on-site in close collaboration with the local staff.

Furthermore clinical cases will be sent to the participants as ‘homework’ and discussed in small groups in an interactive way.

This course will be organised in close co-operation with the manufacturers of equipment for planning, delivery and QA of IMRT and Conformal RT. Their practical demonstrations will be an important part of the course.