TBA; TBA; TBA
TBA .
TBA .
[/vc_column_text]
Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Imaging Physics; Image Analysis; Quantitative Imaging; Oncology Imaging; Neuroimaging.
Ives Levesque, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Oncology and Medical Physics at McGill University, an MRI physicist at the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, and a Scientist in the Research Institute of the MUHC. He joined the MUHC and McGill in 2013. In the clinic, Dr. Levesque supports MRI through protocol development and optimization, and MRI safety procedures, and is working on the integration of MRI in the radiation oncology practice. He also leads a research group within the Medical Physics Unit. Dr. Levesque holds a B.Sc. in physics from the Université de Moncton, and Masters and PhD in physics from McGill University, specializing in magnetic resonance imaging. During his PhD, he investigated quantitative magnetization transfer and MR relaxation techniques for myelin imaging in the human brain. He was an NSERC postdoctoral scholar in the Magnetic Resonance Systems Research Laboratory in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and radiology at Stanford University, working on quantitative mapping and structural imaging of the human brain at 7 tesla, and on image reconstruction techniques. Dr. Levesque is a member of the ISMRM and was named a Junior Fellow of the ISMRM in 2011.
Dr. Levesque’s research group is active in development of methods for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with applications in oncology, neuro, and musculosketetal imaging. Our focus is on the development of pulse sequences and imaging strategies, optimization of data acquisition, signal modeling, and quantitative image analysis. This work is also supported by the RI-MUHC and the MGH Foundation.
Recent publications:
To Be Added;
To Be Added.
My research interests are …
Recent publications:
TO Be Added;
To Be Added.
My research interests are …
Recent publications:
Radiation Treatment and Delivery; Organic Detectors; Radiation Therapy
I completed my undergraduate education in Medical and Health Physics at McMaster University in 1999 and then pursued doctoral studies at the University of Alberta. The topic of my research was beta dosimetry for a targeted radionuclide therapy for late stage ovarian cancer. I completed my clinical training at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton in 2007 and worked as an assistant professor in Oncology at the University of Alberta and a Medical Physicist at the Cross Cancer Institute. In 2011 I moved to Montreal to work at the Jewish General Hospital and McGill University where I am now an assistant professor in the Medical Physics Unit within the Department of Oncology. I am currently a Member and Fellow of the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine.
My research interests are focused in two primary areas: development of novel treatment techniques in radiation therapy; and organic radiation detectors. In particular, I am developing trajectoryGbased treatments for use on the TrueBeam linear accelerator platform from Varian Medical Systems. This includes aspects related to treatment planning(e.g. circular, elliptical and nonGcoplanar trajectories; trajectory optimization) as well as treatment delivery (e.g. collision prediction and patient positioning systems). Organic radiation detectors have been used for decades (e.g. scintillators), but the development of conductive and semiGconductive organic small molecules and polymers is facilitating the production of novel organic electronics (e.g. organic field effect transistors or diodes). I am currently investigating the properties of organic field effect transistors as radiation detectors, including the evaluation of damage products at the molecular level.
Recent publications:
Radiation and Dosimetry Physics; IP Management; Quality Systems Processes
Corey Zankowski is the Vice President of Product Management with Oncology Systems and has been with Varian Medical Systems since 1999. The Oncology Systems business unit represents nearly 80% of Varian’s annual revenues and is comprised of a 4,000 employee strong global team. Reporting in directly are the product portfolio, research and strategic initiatives, clinical solutions, user experience, Mike’s group, and targeted and treatment delivery. Corey joined Varian as a Product Manager for Treatment Planning Systems. He has held variety of roles in product management and engineering. Prior to his arrival to Varian, Corey managed/worked by B.C. Cancer Agency, Clinical Physics Department in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. Corey earned a PhD in Physics, a MS in Medical Physics and a BS in Honors Physics at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Dummy Research Program
Recent publications:
Radiation Physics; Monte Carlo Simulations in Proton Therapy
Dr. Harald Paganetti is the Director of Physics Research at the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. He received his PhD in experimental nuclear physics in 1992 from the RheinischeGFriedrichGWilhelms University in Bonn, Germany, and has been working in radiation therapy research on experimental as well as theoretical projects since 1994. He has authored and coGauthored more than 120 peerGreviewed publications and is renowned particularly for his work on proton therapy. In 2012 he edited a book on “Proton Therapy Physics”. Dr. Paganetti has been awarded numerous research grants from the National Cancer Institute in the United States. He is a member of taskGgroups and committees for various associations such as the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), and the National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute. Further, he is an elected member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and an Associate Senior Editor of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. In 2013 he received the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School.
The mission of physics research as given on our website (http://gray.mgh.harvard.edu/) is to improve outcome through physics innovation. Improving treatment outcome is the centerpiece of any research mission in radiation oncology. Specifically, physics traditionally has dealt with increasing the precision of treatment delivery, the accuracy of treatment dose prescription, and the quest for treatment plan optimization. The majority of topics in physics research is not considered basic research but is truly translational. Thus, physics research in radiation oncology is typically not aiming at long term goals where research results only find their way into the clinic via translation by vendors, but is aiming at developments together with the clinical staff that changes treatment delivery and planning for our patients in the short term, sometimes even while the patient is undergoing treatment. At the same time we also strive to create visions for longGterm improvements and even paradigm shifts in radiation oncology.
Our physics division has traditionally focused on five main areas:
Recent publications:
Regulation of Medical and Non-Medical Accelerators; Radiation Therapy Research, Industry; Nuclear Safety and Control Act
Kavita Murthy is the Director of Accelerators and Class II Facilities Division at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. She has been in this position since 2005. Her division has the responsibility for the regulatory oversight over all accelerators operating above 1 MeV in Canada. As the Designated Officer for Class II Nuclear Facilities, Kavita Murthy has the authority to make licensing decision pertaining to these facilities on behalf of the Commission. Kavita Murthy leads a multiGfaceted team of engineers and physicists who conduct licensing and compliance activities related to these facilities. Kavita holds post graduate degrees in Physics (’88) and Medical Physics (’93) from McGill University. Before joining the CNSC in 2001, she worked as a clinical physicist at the Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital in Montreal and prior to that as a Research Associate at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Her Research at the MNI focused on developing the prototype positron emission mammography scanner for early, nonGinvasive diagnosis of breast cancers using FG18FDG as the radiotracer. In her present position Kavita is not directly involved in research projects, but maintains an active interest in research initiatives that contribute new knowledge to the scientific basis for regulatory decision making
Dummy Research Program
Dummy Publications
Scintillation Fiber Dosimetry; Medical Physics
Dr. Louis Archambault joined the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Quebec and Université Laval in June 2009 as a clinical medical physicist and researcher after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). He became an assistant professor in the département de physique, de génie physique et d’optique de l’Université Laval in July 2013. He is affiliated with the Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec and the Centre de Rercheche sur le Cancer (CRC) de l’Université Laval. His expertise and interests covers a wide range of topic including scintillation dose detectors, dosimetry, 4DCT imaging, image guided adaptive radiation therapy, deformable image registration, proton therapy and Monte Carlo simulations
The main goal of my research program is to create new instruments and methods for guaranteeing that complex radiation treatments can be delivered safely and accurately thus improving their chances of success. This goal is pursued through two main areas. (1) Scintillator*based detector development for accurate dose measurement. Our group is working on a large range of dose detectors to better monitor radiation treatment delivery: from miniature single or multiG point detectors for in vivo and ex vivo measurements to a full 3D detector system for quality assurance of dynamic radiotherapy delivery. Our expertise lies in both the conception of these detectors as well as in innovative signal processing approaches such as hyperspectral analysis and tomographic dose reconstruction. (2) Image analysis and image processing. We are making sure that images produced during the radiation therapy workflow are used to their full potential. By using tools such as deformable image registration and texture analysis we can extract clinically relevant information from images and use that information to create better treatment plans. For example, we are developing schemes to improve the quality of images such as CBCT so that they can be used for accurate plan assessment and we are doing semiGautomated patient tracking using daily EPID images to trigger efficient adaptive radiotherapy. Furthermore, we are designing new phantoms to validate our image processing methods
Recent publications:
Radiation Physics and Dosimetry; Experiments; Detectors; Accelerators; Calorimeters
Malcolm McEwen joined the Ionizing Radiations Standards Group at NRC in 2002 from the National Physical Laboratory in the UK. He has over 20 years experience in the field of ionizing radiation metrology and is actively involved with national and international organizations focusing on radiation dosimetry and medical physics including the Ottawa Medical Physics Institute, American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the Sistema Interamericano de Metrología. He is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics at Carleton University and participates in the medical physics graduate program there through supervision, teaching and providing access to NRC research facilities. Dr McEwen’s main area of interest is in the dosimetry for highGenergy photon and electron beams, as produced by linear accelerators and he has developed calibration services and protocols that enable medical physicists in cancer centres to deliver radiation therapy treatments with improved accuracy.
Expertise:
Development of primary standard calorimeters for highG energy photon and electron beam dosimetry at industrial and radiotherapy levels. Performance of secondary dosimeters G ionization chambers, diodes, chemical dosimeters (Fricke, alanine, etc). Operation of linear accelerators in the MeV energy range. Development of calibration services, codes of practice and audit systems for radiotherapy centres in Canada and worldwide.
The Ionizing Radiation Standards Group is responsible for maintaining and developing measurement standards for Canada in the areas of radiation dosimetry and radioactivity. In addition to physical measurements it has a long history of developing radiation transport codes and maintains the wellG known EGSnrc system. The group has an impressive array of facilities including: CoG60, kV xGrays and betaGsource irradiation facilities, a lowGscatter radiation protection laboratory (with neutron and CsG137 beams), a comprehensive radioactivity and radiochemistry laboratory and a linear accelerator lab housing two MV electron linacs.
Current and planned projects within the group include:
• Development of a primary standard water calorimeter for electron beam dosimetry.
• Investigation of dose standards for small photon beams.
• Evaluation of new ion chamber designs for reference dosimetry.
• Investigation of novel detectors for high accuracy applications in radiation dosimetry.
• Measurement of ‘fundamental’ parameters used in radiation dosimetry (e.g., stopping powers for electron beams, the average energy required to produce an ion pair in air)
• Application of the Fricke dosimeter system to brachytherapy and kV dosimetry
• Performance comparison of integrating dosimeters (e.g., alanine, OSL, radiochromic film) and application as secondary standard and/or audit dosimeters
• Development of standards for LDR brachytherapy
• Development of techniques to determine absolute activity of alpha, beta and gamma radioactive sources.
• Investigation of the production, extraction, standardization and delivery of diagnostic radionuclides.
• Measurement of the absolute neutron fluence and energy spectra of neutron sources.
Projects are generally carried out in a team environment giving students the opportunity to work with several experts within the IRS group.
Recent publications:
Therapy Imaging; Medical Imaging; IP creation
M. Tony Falco, Ph.D. is President and CEO of Elekta Canada since May 2008 and CTO since founding Resonant in 2000. Dr. Falco has over 15 years of clinical, IP creation, product development and business experience. Prior to Resonant, Dr. Falco was a member of the prestigious McGill University Faculty of Medicine and also held a clinical medical physicist position for 6 years of practical clinical and consulting experience at the McGill University Health Center. In 2001, Dr. Falco became the youngest Fellow of the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine and was awarded the coveted Innovator Award in 2006.
Dr. Falco holds a B.Sc. in Physics, an M.Sc. in Radiation Physics and a Ph.D. in Medical Physics from McGill University, with emphasis on medical imaging. Instrumental in building the scientific and development foundation of the company since its inception and holds several patents whose principles are at the core of the company’s products and elegant solutions to essential market needs.
Dummy Research Program
Recent publications:
Radiation Treatment and Delivery; Organic Detectors; Radiation Therapy
Radiation and Dosimetry Physics; IP Management; Quality Systems Processes
Radiation Physics; Monte Carlo Simulations in Proton Therapy
Imaging and Radiotherapy QA Devices and Software;
Regulation of Medical and Non-Medical Accelerators; Radiation Therapy Research, Industry; Nuclear Safety and Control Act
Scintillation Fiber Dosimetry; Medical Physics
Radiation Physics and Dosimetry; Experiments; Detectors; Accelerators; Calorimeters
Therapy Imaging; Medical Imaging; IP creation