Project Title: To be added
Project Title: Modelling and Improving Lung Cancer treatment Outcomes Using Bayesian Network Averaging
Project Title: Conception d’un dosimètre in vivo en temps réel pour la curiethérapie .
Project Title: Développement d’une stratégie d’analyse de type radiomique pour les séquences temporelles d’images
Project Title: Optimisation et validation d’un système de dosimétrie à scintillation multipoints polyvalent pour une utilisation en radiothérapie .
Project Title: Conception d’un dosimètre à scintillation déformable pour l’évaluation de la dose dans une anatomie en évolution .
Project Title: To be Added .
Project Title: Rotating shield high dose rate brachytherapy with Gd-153 and Yb-169 .
Project Title: Multi-Points Plastic Scintillation Detectors for In Vivo Dosimetry.
Project Title: To be Added
Project Title: Patient-Centric Machine Learning Approaches in Radiation Oncology .
Project Title: The decomposition of FDG-PET based differential uptake volume histograms in lung cancer patients
Project Title: Dynamic trajectory optimization for volumetric modulated arc therapy
Project Title: Improvement of Monte Carlo (MC) electron transport at low energies for accurate modeling of cellular radiation damage
Project Title: Small field dosimetry for GammaKnife
Project Title: Addressing the risk of secondary neutrons in radiotherapy through spectral measurements and track structure simulations .
Project Title: Development of a three-dimensional scintillation dosimetry system for external beam radiotherapy.
Project Title: Development and application of intensity modulated brachytherapy for gynecological cancers .
Project Title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based Dose Calculation and Verification for Four Dimensional Adaptive Radiotherapy.
Project Title: Quantum Dots as radiation nano-dosimeters/Caracterisation de la reponse des points quantiques CdSe soumis a la radiation ionisante
Project Title: Microdosimetrical and Radiobiological Comparison Between Different RadiationModalities in Radiation Therapy.
Project Title: Development of a Monte Carlo Platform for Dose Calculation and Dose Optimization in Brachytherapy using Graphic Processing Units
Project Title: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging of microstructures
Project Title: Quantitative susceptibility mapping with applications in cancer.
Project Title: Investigation of Cherenkov emission with applications in dosimetry and imaging in radiation therapy.
Project Title: To be added .
Project Title: Quantitative dynamic contrast enhanced MRI with reference region methods .
The objective of this work is to develop and implement trajectory-based radiotherapy in which the patient can be dynamically translated and/or rotated while radiation therapy is being delivered. The requisite calculation infrastructure for the optimization of trajectoryGbased treatments does not yet exist. Monte Carlo (MC) methods will be used to establish a beam model for different treatments (i.e. flattening filter free and regular treatment beams on the TrueBeam linear accelerator). From this work, MC calculated beamlets will be derived and inverse planned fluence pattern optimization will be applied to simple trajectories (i.e. synchronous circular motion of couch and gantry). Complex trajectories such as those that might be encountered in cranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) will also be studied. In particular an efficient algorithm for the exploration of the parameter space that maps out permissible couch/gantry position combinations is required. An optimized trajectory will be calculated based on constraints imposed by radiobiological considerations (i.e. tumour control probability and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP)) as well as mechanical limitations of the linear accelerator (i.e. maximum permissible ranges of motion, travel speeds and a requirement for a “smooth” delivery). Finally, planning studies will be performed to evaluate the improvement in NTCP that could be expected based on improvements in dose conformity offered by both optimized trajectories and smaller projected MLC leaf widths using this treatment technique.
1. Joel Mullins†, Francois DeBlois, and A Syme (2017) Experimental characterization of the dosimetric leaf gap, Biomedical Physics & Engineering Express 2(6): 065013 .
With the advent of combined MRIGLinac systems becoming a reality, we believe that establishing a work-flow for MRIG based dose calculation and verification will improve tumour localization, reduce radiation dose to patients from image acquisition, and improve the accuracy of dose delivery through the adaptive process. The aims of the project are as follows:
In order to achieve aim (1), we plan on first investigating a variety of algorithms for the accuracy of registration (rigid and deformable) between a pre-planning CT set and an MRI mset to transpose electron density values to our MRI data. We will also explore the option of MRI-only simulation with no CT registration using atlas-based techniques such as the one outlined by Dowling et al1, or hybrid techniques combining fundamental and empirical methods. For aim (2), with a strong emphasis on general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU), we will evaluate the performance and accuracy of segmentation algorithms for organ contouring on MR images over CT images. For dose calculations and optimization, we plan on using a Macro Monte Carlo technique, based on the work of Jabbari, developed during the course of my Master’s thesis to produce ands optimal treatment plan guided by the MRI data set. Finally, for aim (3), we will validate the workflow by looking specifically at Head & Neck cancer cases, which are known to have significant anatomical changes during the course of their treatment.
Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of radiation transport at low energies are of increasing importance for understanding radiation-induced damage of nanometer-scale cellular structures, such as the DNA (Nikjoo et al 2006,2008; Goodhead, 2006). Our approach will be todevelop detailed models of low-energy electron transport which are consistent with quantum theory. To first order we will follow the approach proposed by Liljequist, where quantum modeling is compared to classical track structure modeling in simplified systems. Research will entail the appropriate comparison metrics relevant for a specific end-point, e.g., DNA damage modeling versus damage in larger cellular structures. Classical track structure modeling largely only models elastic scattering. Therefore, a second topic of research will be to study the impact of inelastic scattering in track structure modeling. More realistic models of electron scattering in condensed media such as suggested by Caron and Sanche (2003) and Kaplan and Miterev (1985) will be applied to improve on existing approximate models of electron scattering in which water molecules are considered to be point scatterers and scattering is modeled as s-wave scattering. Finally, the new approach will be tested and validated against the established method.
Purpose: To investigate from first principles, corroborated by Monte Carlo simulations and experimental measurements, the feasibility of developing a Cherenkov emission (CE) dosimetry protocol and in vivo imaging system for radiotherapy.
Methods: Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of 4-18 MeV electrons incident on water were carried out in Geant4. Percent depth Cherenkov emission (PDCE) and dose (PDD) were scored. Analytical PDD prediction models were derived from first principles and evaluated with our simulation data. Experimental techniques for validation of these models are examined. Experimental phantoms include water and tissue-simulating phantom composed of water, Intralipid®, and beef blood. The detector system comprises an optical fiber and diffraction-grating CCD spectrometer. A spectral shift to the NIR window of biological tissue was carried out with CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), emitting at (650±10) nm.
Results: The MC simulations showed that, for all energies in the drop-off region, PDD was non-linear with PDCE at the same depth and linear with PDCE when a constant depth shift is applied. The build-up region behaviour was not investigated. Based on these findings, two PDD prediction models – non-linear (same depth) and linear (depth shift) – were derived. The PDD prediction power of the non-linear method over all depths up to the practical range varied from < 2% with 4 MeV to < 0.5% with 18 MeV electrons. The PDD prediction power of the depth shift method ranged from 3% with 4 MeV to 1% with 18 MeV electrons at the inflection point, with a minimum from 2% to 0.1% slightly upstream. These errors correspond to < 0.1 mm. Due to the angular anisotropy of the Cherenkov signal, experimental validation of these methods would require 3D acquisition or the use of an isotropically emitting fluorophore. CE by an 18-MeV beam was effectively NIR-shifted in water and a tissue-simulating phantom, exhibiting a signal increase at 650 nm for QD depths up to 20 mm in the latter.
Conclusion: We present robust quantitative prediction models, derived from first-principles and supported by simulation and measurement, for relative dose from Cherenkov emission by high-energy electrons and we demonstrate the use of QDs to improve CE detectability in tissue. This constitutes a major step towards development of protocols for routine clinical quality assurance as well as real-time in vivo Cherenkov dosimetry and imaging in radiotherapy.
1. Yana Zlateva and Issam El Naqa (2015) Cherenkov emission dosimetry for electron beam radiotherapy: a Monte Carlo feasibility study of relative and absolute dose prediction, Chapter from book Modeling current density maps in the heart (pp.828-831), DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-19387-8_203.
Les CT à énergie multiple (MECT) ou à double-énergie (DECT) deviendront rapidement accessible dans les départements de physique des radiations. Ils peuvent potentiellement amener des améliorations majeures entre autre pour la délimitation des zones tumorales ainsi que pour augmenter la précision de mesure du pouvoir d’arrêt massique en proton thérapie et carbone thérapie. Les premières étapes de l’étude démontrent que l’utilisation de DECT réduit l’erreur sur le pouvoir d’arrêt massique de 3% à 1.0%. De plus, l’étude à aussi suggérer que l’utilisation en combinaison avec les CT en proton peut réduire cette erreur d’un facteur 5. Les CT en proton et en carbone sont développés maintenant en utilisant la connaissance des DECT pour augmenter la précision sur les pouvoirs d’arrêt massique.
Les MECT peuvent aussi avoir un rôle majeur à jouer dans la délimitation de la tumeur entre autre à cause de large variance entre les observateurs lorsqu’ils délimitent la tumeur. Cette variance peut être aussi large que 10-15% et peut mener à de très larges volumes tumoraux non-nécessaires dus à ces incertitudes. Le projet va investiguer l’utilisation de plusieurs images CT à énergie unique (30,40 et 50 keV) pour augmenter le contraste entre la tumeur et les organes autours ayant une densité approximativement équivalente. La majorité du projet sera fait en Monte Carlo et/ou avec les logiciels d’imageries du département de Radio-Oncologie et Radiologie du MGH.
Brachytherapy allows for the delivery of large dose of radiation in a reduced number of fractions. Trials that further increase the dose to 1x19Gy as a monotherapy treatment for prostate are about to start. While not always delivery such large fraction, brachytherapy is often associated to a smaller numbers of larger dose compared to EBRT, which can extend of weeks. Thus any differences between the planned and delivered doses will have a large clinical impact. In vivo dosimetry is the only method to quantify the delivered dose. Our group has developed a world-renowned expertise is developing plastic scintillation dosimeter (PSD) and a commercial product (Exradin W1) steaming from that research is now available to EBRT dose measurements. More recently, we have proposed a new hyperspectral technology that allows us to have multiple plastic scintillating elements (mPSDs) on a single clear light collecting fiber. In this project, a database of spectrum and other properties will be built from the characteristics of known commercially available plastic scintillators, as well as crystalline scintillators in term of emission wavelength and emission efficiency. This should allow full numerical modeling of combinations of two, three or more mPSDs apparatus. To extend the number of viable options, the possibility of adding wavelength filters to scintillators to modify the spectra seen at the photodetector level will further be explored. This should provide us with the best potential mPSDs candidates to be built and tested experimentally. The accuracy of this process will also need to be assessed.
The introduction of advanced model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDC) in BT will have profound and lasting consequences on current clinical practice. These codes allows medical physicists to visualize the effect of accurate dose calculation relative to TG43, but they are usually far from easy to operate and generally slow which limits their use for treatment optimization. Even when such algorithms are available, the treatment plan optimization is performed using the much faster TG43 protocol. We believe that unless fundamental research and developments are undertaken, these novel algorithms will only allow visualizing the dosimetry errors induced by TG43 but will not allow taking any actions during treatment plan optimization.
Current state-of-the-art MC codes while fast (20 to 60 seconds per calculation for low energy seed implants only) are tools to be used in dose optimization tasks. The only commercial MBDC algorithm can take up to 10 minutes to complete a dose calculation for a complex case of high energy 182Ir BT. Thus at this time no MBDC algorithms can be used to accomplish the necessary number of iterations needed by modern inverse planning algorithms within a reasonable time span (a few minutes maximum). A paradigm shift is needed and we are proposing migrating to GPU.
The proposed PhD project will tackle this shortcoming by the development and the validation of a fast and accurate graphic processing unit (GPU, which are massively parallel processors used in the video game industry) Monte Carlo dose calculation algorithm and GPU-based inverse planning algorithm.
Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) is widely used for neural and oncological diagnosis and treatment evaluation. Recent development of advanced DW-MRI techniques such as AxCaliber and ActiveAx, enable the extraction of mean axonal diameter and axonal density in the human brain. The idea behind AxCaliber is that axons of different diameters will experience the switch between intra-axonal restricted diffusion to extra-axonal hindered diffusion at a different diffusion time (the time between diffusion encoding gradient pulses). By varying the diffusion time, thereby allowing water to diffuse for different amounts of time before signal collection, the estimation of the axonal diameter distribution is feasible. I believe that the samelogic applies to cancer cells. Intracellular water molecules have extensive interactions with cell membranes and intracellular compounds. Water may form 3D arrays in the presence of interfaces with charged materials such as organelle membranes or protein molecules, which hinders water motion to a greater extent compare to extracellular water molecules. By measuring diffusion over a range of different time periods, I propose that we can estimate the average cell diameters.The aim of my PhD project is to develop the technique for estimating cell diameters, to translate this technique to oncological imaging and to employ a model of water diffusion within cancer cells to estimate their diameter distribution within various sub-regions of a tumor. I will start by scanning tumor samples ex vivo, obtained with the help of clinical collaborators via tissue biopsy from an ongoing study of soft tissue sarcoma. I will also perform analysis of the cell diameter distribution of the same histology sample with optical microscopy to validate my measurements from DW-MRI. Lastly, I will conduct Monte-Carlo simulations of water diffusion to strengthen our understanding of water diffusion in the tumor microenvironment.
1. X Su, D Fang, Y Liu, G Ruan, J Seuntjens, JM Kinsella, SD Tran (2018) Lyophilized bone marrow cell extract functionally restores irradiation-injured salivary glands, Oral Diseases 24:202-206, DOI: 10.1111/odi.12728.
2. Shu Xing, Matthew W. Grol Peter H. Grutter, S. Jeffrey Dixon and Svetlana V. Komarova (2016) Modeling interactions amongst individual P2 receptors to explain complex response patterns over a wide range of ATP concentrations, Frontiers in Physiology 7, article 294, 14 pages, 13 Jul 2016.
TBA.
1. Mirzakhanian L†, Benmakhlouf H, Tessier F, Seuntjens J. (2018) Determination of kQmsr,Q0fmsr,fref factors for ion chambers used in the calibration of Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion model using EGSnrc and PENELOPE Monte Carlo codes, Med Phys. 2018 Apr;45(4):1748-1757. doi: 10.1002/mp.12821. Epub 2018 Mar 23.
1. M.A. Renaud, D. Roberge, J. Seuntjens (2015) Latent uncertainties of the pre-calculated track Monte Carlo method, Med. Phys. 42(1): 479.
2. Renaud MA†, Serban M, Seuntjens J (2017) On mixed electron-photon radiation therapy optimisation using the column generation approach, Med Phys. 44(8):4287-4298 doi: 10.1002/mp.12338, Epub 2017 Jun 30.
Abstract: The overall goal of the project is to develop a three-dimensional (3D) radiation dose detector system using a uniform volume of plastic scintillator and a light-field imager for medical physics applications in radiotherapy.
This project builds on the proof of concept that was previously published for a 3D scintillation dosimetry system. As a phantom, the dosimeter uses a water-equivalent plastic scintillator volume, characterized by a fluorescent light yield linearly dependent of its locally absorbed dose. The delivered three-dimensional dose distribution is reconstructed by applying pixel-by-pixel tomographic algorithms to images acquired using a light-field imager; each image contains spatial and directional information of incident photons and thus consists of a multi-focal plane measurement of the scintillator’s light field. To our knowledge, the proposed 3D detector device is currently the only medical physics tool potentially capable of measuring complete three dimensional radiation doses in near real-time. However, more work is needed to improve its performance and make it a usable tool to perform quality assurance of external beam radiation treatments.
The main goal of this PhD project is to develop a second generation prototype with improved temporal and spatial resolutions. A collaboration with the Center for Optics, Photonics and Lasers’ Optical Engineering research group has been established to optimize and design a system meeting the specifications required for such an improvement. Overall, this doctoral project aims to offer very precise, fast and user friendly 3D dose measurements to the radiotherapy community, allowing for truly comprehensive verification and knowledge of delivered radiation dose.
1. M. Goulet, M. Rilling, L. Gingras, S. Beddar, L. Beaulieu et L. Archambault, (2014) Novel, full 3D scintillation dosimetry using a static plenoptic camera, Med. Phys. 41(8) 082101-1-082101-13. Sylvia Fedrouk award, World Congress Toronto, June 7-12, 2015.
Abstract: Dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI provides information on blood supply in the body. This information is valuable in oncology since tumours are characterized by abnormal blood supply. Quantitative information, such as the rate of blood flow and cellular density, can be obtained by fitting DCE-MRI data to mathematical models. One such model is the reference region model (RRM) which is practical but suffers from a few limitations. Three major limitations will be explored in this project.
The first limitation of the RRM is that it does not account for the blood vessels which run through the tissue. These vessels are small and negligible in most healthy tissues, but tumours can have a high density of vessels. The first aim is to extend the RRM by including a fitting parameter that accounts for these blood vessels.
The second limitation is that the RRM provides values which can have high variability. The second aim is to reduce this variability by reducing the number of fitting parameters through a two-step approach.
The third limitation is that the RRM requires healthy tissue near the tumour to use as the reference region, but such a region is not always available. The third aim is to use parts of the tumour itself as a reference region.
The approaches developed in this project will be evaluated through simulations and will also be applied on soft tissue sarcoma data acquired from an on-going study at the RI-MUHC .
1) Ahmed, Z. and Levesque I. (2016) Increased robustness in reference region model analysis of DCE MRI using two-step constrained approaches, Magn Reson Med. 2017 Oct;78(4):1547-1557 October 31, 2016, 10.1002/mrm.26530.
Bayesian network ensemble as a multivariate strategy to predict and improve lung radiotherapy outcomes Among cancer victims, lung cancer accounts for the most fatalities in men and women worldwide with a 5-year survival rate of only 15% showning no significant improvement over the past three decades. There is a need to design robust predictors of an individual patient’s prognosis prior to treatment with the intent of improving said prognosis. Our group has shown that the use of a systems-based approach which integrates dosimetric variables with relevant biomarkers extracted from blood specimans allows an accurate prediction of treatment response. I propouse using a probabilistic graphical model to intuitively depict and calculate the probability of tumour control or normal tissue complications after treatment. The model will then determine how the treatment plan maybe modified to optimize the prognosis. Ultimately the graphical model will be integrated into software to be used in clinics improving overall treatment success rates .
1) André Diamant, Avishek Chatterjee, Sergio Faria, Issam El Naqa, Houda Bahig, Edith Filion, Cliff Robinson, Hani Al-Halabi, Jan Seuntjens (2018) Can dose outside the PTV influence the risk of distant metastases in stage I lung cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT)?, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Available online 2018 May 22. doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2018.05.012. [Epub ahead of print].
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1) Famulari G†, Pater P, Enger SA, (2017) Microdosimetric evaluation of current and alternative Brachytherapy Sources-A Geant4-DNA Simulation Study, International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics, Vol. 100(1):270-277. DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2017.09.040.
2) Famulari G†, Pater P, Enger SA, (2017) Microdosimetry calculations for monoenergetic electrons using Geant4-DNA combined with a weighted track sampling algorithm, Phys Med Biol. 2017 Jul 7;62(13):5495-5508 doi: 10.1088/1361-6560/aa71f6.
3) Famulari G†, Urlich T, Armstrong A, Enger SA, (2017) Practical aspects of 153Gd as a radioactive source for use in brachytherapy, Applied Radiation and Isotopes 130: 131-139.
4) Gabriel Famulari, Marc-André Renaud, Christopher M Poole, Michael D C Evans, Jan Seuntjens and Shirin A Enger (2018) RapidBrachy MCTPS: a Monte Carlo based treatment planning system for brachytherapy applications, Physics in Medicine and Biology, Accepted Manuscript online 10 August 2018.
A PET scan is performed by injecting a patient with a tracer which emits radiation that is collected and used to create a 30 image. The most common tracer is FOG, an analog for a sugar molecule. As the body’s cells consume sugar, an FOG-PET scan allows the mapping of sugar metabolism throughout the body, which has led to its widespread adoption in the study of cancer. Most cancers consume more sugar than healthy cells and so appear much brighter on a PET scan. In radiotherapy, imaging’s primary purpose is to define the gross tumour volume (GTV), the anatomical extent of disease. This is traditionally done with CT or MR imaging, which have excellent spatial resolution. Much effort has been spent determining how to redefine the GTV using PET to varied success. We believe that the biological information provided by PET should be used to complement and not compete with other modalities. Thus, our goal is to define and outline potential biological target volumes (BTVs) defined by metabolism. Our previous work investigating the abundance of these volumes in rectal cancer patients has demonstrated significant differences between patients with positive/negative responses to radiotherapy and we hope to compare, verify, and expand this for lung cancer patients. To this end, we are actively recruiting a retrospective cohort of 100 non-small cell lung cancer patients. To compare between patients, we will examine cancerous and healthy cells by taking a ratio of their signals in what we call signal-to-background ratio (SBR) images. We will then extract values found within the disease and plot the number of pixels corresponding to each SBR value. Afterwards, we define sub-volumes by determining the best fitting mathematical functions . By studying relationships between BTVs and patient outcome, we hope to advance radiotherapy treatment planning and evaluation .
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The signal in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) depends on different intrinsic tissue properties, such as water proton density, relaxation times, and magnetic susceptibility. Recent work has shown that magnetic susceptibility, which reflects the tissue magnetization in response to an applied magnetic field, can be used to reconstruct susceptibility map with a technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). With its capacity to quantify the magnetic susceptibility of tissues, QSM can give important information about tissue structure, composition and oxygenation level. Susceptibility mapping is under ongoing development, but it has already shown to be a useful tool in neuroimaging for iron content measurement and estimation of venous oxygen saturation. Most of the work done with QSM has been done in the brain, but we would like to transfer this technique to other parts of the body, in particular to study healthy tissue (liver, breast, muscle) and to explore the value of QSM in cancer tumour characterization. This is gaining interest in the community due to the presence of structures with a magnetic susceptibility different from soft tissue, such as calcium and iron. The main challenges related to QSM outside of the brain include organ motion, the presence of additional phase shift to fat, and the presence of large susceptibility differences, which cause rapid signal decay .
1) V. Fortier, I. Levesque (2017) Phase processing for quantitative susceptibility mapping of regions with large susceptibility and lack of signal, Magn. Res. Med. 2017 Nov 11. doi: 10.1002/mrm.26989. [Epub ahead of print].
Neutrons are produced as an unwanted byproduct when generating high-energy photon radiation therapy beams, and deliver a potentially dangerous whole-body dose to radiotherapy patients. Secondary neutrons are also produced when generating proton beams, which are of greatest potential benefit for pediatric patients but for whom iatrogenic second cancer induction is of greatest concern. However, the carcinogenic risk due to neutron radiation is poorly understood and we currently rely on highly-uncertain radiation weighting factors published by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. These factors suggest that the radiobiological effectiveness (and thus carcinogenic risk) of neutrons varies significantly with neutron energy with a peak effectiveness around 1 MeV, but for largely unknown reasons.
This project aims to elucidate the energy-dependent mechanisms by which neutrons deposit dose in the macroscopic and nanoscopic regimes, and thus better inform carcinogenic risk estimates due to neutron irradiation received during radiation therapy. The method will consist of development of macroscopic Monte Carlo simulations to score energy fluence spectra of neutron radiation and secondary particles generated in water by the primary neutrons. These spectra will then be inserted into nanoscopic neutron track structure simulations using GEANT4-DNA to quantify the amount of DNA damage (i.e. strand breaks, chromosomal aberrations, etc.) caused by primary neutron radiation of various energies.
Primary neutron radiation energies will be selected in accordance with measured neturon spectra around clinical electron and proton accelerators, as well as neutron beam energies available via collaboration with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL). This will allow cross-verification of simulated results with radiobiological experiments performed in analogous irradiation conditions .
1) Logan Montgomery, Palma Fava, Carolyn R. Freeman, Tarek Hijal, Ciro Maietta, William Parker, John Kildea (2017) Development and implementation of a radiation therapy incident learning system compatible with local workflow and a national taxonomy, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, 12 pages, First published November 22, 2017, DOI: 10.1002/acm2.12218.
The biological response to radiation, such as cell survival or DNA double-strand breaks (DSB), is quantified in terms of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE). This descriptor is used to measure the effectiveness of damage by various forms of ionizing radiation defined as the ratio of the dose from a reference radiation (250 kVp x-rays) to the dose of a studied source that achieves the same level of biological effect.
Due to the extensive approaches for radiation application in the clinical setting, there is a need to predict accurate RBE values as it plays an important function in the development of radiology-based treatment planning tools. Monte Carlo (MC) methods are accurate and rigorous tools for simulating radiation transport and score energy deposition in heterogeneous systems such as the human body. Since cellular response to radiation is affected by the microscopic distribution of energy deposition, MC track structure (MCTS) codes are implemented for investigations at the cellular and subcellular level.
Experimental studies implementing cell-culture models are needed to fill the biological gaps in our knowledge, and verify the simulation results. Brachytherapy Yb-169 and lr-192 sources and external beam radiation therapy will be investigated for the measurement of double-strand breaks and cell survival fraction. Three-dimensional (3D) cell-culture systems with the potential to more closely mimic in vivo conditions in an in vitro setting will be studied .
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L’évaluation de la dose dans une anatomie qui se déforme et change de volume dans le temps est un problème complexe, mais omniprésent en radiothérapie. En effet, les modalités de traitements se complexifient et les logiciels proposés pour aider à cette évaluation ont conséquemment grandement besoin de validation expérimentale. Actuellement, aucun système ne regroupe les propriétés d’un dosimètre à scintillation déformable qui permettrait une mesure de la dose en temps réel applicable à une anatomie changeante à travers les fractions de traitement. En effet, un seul dosimètre permet des mesures en présence de déformation, mais il s’agit d’un dosimètre intégrateur : il ne permet donc pas une collecte d’informations en temps réel en plus de emander un temps de récupération entre les irradiations. Conséquemment, la composition du volume sensible devra être étudiée de sorte à sélectionner la matrice de scintillation la mieux adaptée à nos besoins. Les scintillateurs liquides ou encore les points quantiques pourraient être considérés sous forme liquide ou dans une matrice de gel parmi les candidats potentiels. De plus, la forme que prendra le détecteur devra être investiguée de même que la nature de la déformation (discrète ou continue) qui sera imposée au dosimètre et qui devra être reproductibl .
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Dans le cadre de ce projet de doctorat, nous proposons le développement et la validation en laboratoire d’un système intégrant une technologie de positionnement électromagnétique qui nous permettra de suivre en temps-réel les positions d’un dosimètre ainsi que de la source de curiethérapie simultanément. Dans ce projet, nous utiliserons la plateforme Aurora de la compagnie Canadienne NDI (Ontario). Il permet la localisation d’un senseur selon 5 ou 6 degrées de libertés dans un espace de travail de 50x50x50 cm3. En combinant les caractéristiques optimales en terme de dimension et transparence à la radiation ionisante des senseurs ainsi que des câbles de connexion, nous produirons divers prototypes de dosimètre. Notre but est d’en arriver à un modèle qui permet la mesure précise de la dose tout en ayant une lecture de son positionnement en-déçà du mm. Au terme de ce projet, nous aurons un prototype complet d’un système pour la dosimétrie in vivo de haute précision qui inclus le suivi en temps-réel du positionnement de la source, une première dans le domain .
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Le projet vise l’utilisation du concept de frontière stochastique (SFA) pour aider la planification de traitement en radiothérapie. L’hypothèse du travail est qu’il est possible d’utiliser se modèle de nature économique pour identifier des cibles de planification réalistes. Contrairement à des approches de type ‘knowledge-basedplanning’, l’approche SFA ne devrait pas être pénalisée par l’inclusion de mauvais plans dans la banque de plan utilisé pour établir le modèle. Le travail de l’étudiante consistera premièrement à raffiner les outils logiciels mis en place par un étudiant précédent afin d’accroitre la rapidité du calcul et l’utilité générale de l’approche SFA. Dans une deuxième temps, l’étudiante pilotera une implantation clinique de son approche afin d’en tester les performance dans un contexte réaliste.
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La radiomique est un nouveau paradigme en oncologie qui vise à faire une analyse quantitative des traits d’une image afin d’établir une corrélation avec des paramètres génétiques, phénotypiques ou cliniques. La radiomique permettrait donc éventuellement de transformer une image médicale en une source de biomarqueurs facile d’accès. La force de la technique réside, entre autres, dans le très grand nombre de traits extrait de chaque image. Ces traits peuvent être de nature statistique, texturale ou morphologique. Au cours de ce projet, nous ajouterons à cette liste des traits de nature temporelle. En considérant des images obtenues à différents moments tels que les images 4DCT (courte période) ou des images de suivi médical (longue période), nous émettons l’hypothèse que l’ajout de ces traits permettra de renforcer les prédictions d’un modèle radiomique. En plus des données temporelles, il est aussi possible d’inclure l’information obtenue par différent mode d’imagerie; la combinaison de traits provenant d’examen d’imagerie anatomique et d’examen d’imagerie fonctionnelle est particulièrement d’intérêt. Toutefois, plus augment le nombre de traits, plus le risque d’observer une corrélation simplement due au hasard augmente. Afin de réduire le risque de ‘fausses corrélations’, nous utiliserons des outils d’apprentissage machine déjà bien établis (p. ex. des réseaux de neurones profonds) afin d’obtenir un petit nombre de traits ayant un fort pouvoir prédictif. Finalement, la stratégie développée au cours de ce projet de doctorat sera testée dans un domaine différent de l’oncologie, mais où des changements physiologiques surviennent graduellement.
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Development of intensity modulated brachytherapy for gynecological malignancies:
Brachytherapy (BT) is an essential part of radiotherapy (RT) treatment for gynecological (GYN) cancers which involves placing a radioactive source in the cancerous region to deliver a tumoricidal dose. Historically, a standard planning method for cervical cancer delivered a pear-shaped dose distribution for every patient regardless of the complexity or extent of disease. Modern BT involves delineation of sensitive organs at risk (OAR) and tumor volumes on MRI. MRI-guided BT has allowed clinicians to more accurately define the target volume for treatment and has been reported to improve clinical outcomes. For locally advanced cervical cancer with extension in the parametrium or vaginal tissues, conventional BT is unable to safely deliver a tumoricidal dose due to the rotationally symmetric dose distributions – attempting to treat could induce severe toxicities due to the proximity of OARs. Specialized institutions are able to treat these advances cases by supplementing the conventional BT with interstitial needles. The hollow needles are implanted to allow dose to be delivered where the conventional applicator cannot reach. Proper needle placement requires considerable skill. Improper placement cannot be easily compensated during the planning process. For this reason, interstitial BT is only practiced in few specialized centers. This study proposes an alternative, less invasive delivery method to achieve those aims based on intensity modulated BT (IMBT), using rotating-shields inside the applicators/needles. By dynamically controlling the shield, IMBT will improve the potential of GYN BT by enabling dose escalation to the tumor to maximize local control while further reducing radiation-induced toxicities.
1) To Be Added .
Radiation therapy is the use of radiation (such as x-rays or charged particles) to safely and effectively treat cancer. The challenge in radiation therapy is to deliver enough radiation into the body to destroy the cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The increasing availability of the clinical, technical, and biological radiation oncology data allows us to treat cancer more confidently.
The aim of this research project is to develop machine learning techniques to utilize patient-centric radiotherapy data to model the treatment strategy and maximize the treatment outcome by automatically suggesting treatment modifications. Machine learning techniques are powerful computer-based approaches that employ a variety of mathematical and statistical algorithms to learn from previously-collected data in order to make data-driven decisions or predictions. In this project, we will :
a) Continually feed existing radiotherapy databases with reliable, structured and standardized data, to allow our machine learning models to learn and update continuously.
b) Automate the process of linking patient-reported outcomes data, collected via a mobile phone app developed by our group (opalmedapps.com) to treatment information.
c) Develop image processing, deep learning, and natural language processing algorithms to integrate unstructured data such as information contained in medical images and doctor notes .
1) To Be Added
To be added.
1) To Be Added
Qu’il soit question de radiothérapie externe ou de curiethérapie, la mesure de dose est un enjeu de taille puisqu’elle doit être faite de la façon la plus précise que possible. L’utilisation d’un nombre important de différents types de dosimètres est ainsi nécessaire afin de s’adapter aux conditions de mesures variées.
Ainsi, nous avons pour but d’optimiser un système complet de dosimétrie en temps réel adaptable aux multiples conditions de mesures de la radiothérapie. Le système sera composé d’un dosimètre à scintillation multipoints combiné à un photodétecteur ainsi qu’un algorithme de traitement du signal afin de rendre l’ensemble du système utilisable de façon autonome.
L’optimisation du système se fera par la détermination de la limite expérimentale du nombre de canaux de mesures et du nombre de scintillateurs devant constituer le dosimètre. D’autre part, la caractérisation du prototype permettra d’évaluer les performances du système en termes de résolution spatiale et temporelle, sa plage de détection et déterminer, s’il y a lieu, les dépendances du système à la dose, au débit de dose, à l’énergie et aux types de particules. Afin d’en démontrer ses avantages, le photodétecteur du système sera de plus comparé aux autres actuellement utilisés, comme la caméra CCD, le tube photomultiplicateur ou le spectromètre en combinaison avec le détecteur multipoints.
La validation de ce système offre une multitude de possibilités quant à ses utilisations en cliniques afin de réduire le nombre de dosimètres employés mais peut également être étendu à d’autres domaines où une mesure de dose précise est nécessaire.
To Be Added
Upcoming workshops & events: read more in Workshops & Events .
March 31, 2019 – Industry Day, MUHC DS1-1427, Montreal QC . Program: Memorandum Industry Day Schedule
March 1, 2019 – Leadership Retreat, McGill University, Thomson House, Montreal QC .
January 24, 2019 – Interview skills workshop, RI-MUHC Glen site, 1001 Décarie Boulevard, Block E, S1.1129, Montreal QC ; Videoconference with Université Laval, Quebec.
September 15, 2018 – MPRTN PhD student Veronique Fortier received the award for 2nd place in the CARO Resident and Young Investigator Competition at the joint CARO-COMP-CAMRT annual scientific meeting (Synthetic-CT from 3D Gradient-Echo MRI) ,Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal QC.Congratulations to the 2018 COMP Award Winners!
September 15, 2018 – MPRTN PhD student Peter Watson received the award Runner Up (2nd place) in the COMP Oral Award for best presentation at the joint CARO-COMP-CAMRT annual scientific meeting (The intrabeam dosimetric interregnum: are the breast target protocol doses delivered by intrabeam accurate?) ,Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal QC.
September 15, 2018 – MPRTN PhD student Marc-Andre Renaud received the Sylvia Fedoruk Award for Best Paper in Medical Physics in Canada (On mixed electron-photon radiation therapy optimisation using the column generation approach, Med Phys. 44(8):4287-4298 doi: 10.1002/mp.12338 ) at the Joint CARO/COMP/CAMRT Annual Scientific Meeting,Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal QC.
September 15, 2018 – MPRTN PhD student Yana Zlateva received the award for the Best Poster (Laying the groundwork for accurate Cherenkov emission-based electron beam dosimetry) at the Joint CARO/COMP/CAMRT Annual Scientific Meeting,Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal QC.
September 10 to 15, 2018 – Joint CARO/COMP/CAMRT Annual Scientific Meeting,Le Centre Sheraton, Montreal QC. “Young Professional Workshop”: 11:00 – 17:00h Read more: http://www.comp-ocpm.ca/english/conferences-events/2018-young-professionals-workshop.html
May 3, 2018 – “Session #4 Individual Development Plan Workshop: Lorna MacEachern, Montreal/ MUHC DS1-5034 – Teleconference with Universite Laval, Quebec .
March 19, 2018 – “Session #3 Leadership Retreat: March (3rd week) /Thomson House, Montreal .
February 8, 2018 – “Session #2 3MT Coaching round table: 14 days aft #1, Montreal/ MUHC DS1-5034 – Teleconference with Universite Laval, Quebec .
January 18, 2018 – “Session #1 3MT Info session” – Montreal/ MUHC DS1-5034 – Teleconference with Universite Laval, Quebec .
ARCHIVE: November 24, 2017 – Demi-journée de carrière pour les stagiaires de l’IR-CUSM (le 24 novembre 2017 au site Glen de l’IR-CUSM, 1001 boulevard Décarie, Bloc E, S1.1129 (à l’auditorium et à l’atrium) Présentée par le Centre Desjardins de formation avancée/ Career Half-Day for RI-MUHC Trainees (November 24, 2017 RI-MUHC Glen site, 1001 Décarie Boulevard, Block E, S1.1129 (Amphitheatre/Atrium) Presented by The Desjardins Centre for Advanced Training; Agenda: Microsoft Word – Career Half Day_Agenda_FINAL_November 21.docx .
September 07 – 08, 2017 – “CREATE Medical Physics Research Training Network Industry & Research Workshop” – Montreal, Glen Site ES1-1129 .
April 13, 2017 – “Managing the Supervisor Workshop” – Montreal, 14:00h-16:00h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / videoconference with Québec NSERC CREATE-Managing the Supervisor Workshop . 16 – 17 mars 2017 – “Labo sur l’accélérateur linéaire” – Université Laval, Québec, QC; Facilitator: Dr. Luc Gingras.
January 19, 2017 – “Negotiations Skills” Workshop – 13:30h-16:00h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / le local au Québec du CRCEO; Facilitator: Tom Fullerton : NSERC CREATE-Negotiating Skills Workshop .
April 13, 2017 – “Managing the Supervisor Workshop” – Montreal, 14:00h-16:00h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / videoconference with Québec NSERC CREATE-Managing the Supervisor Workshop .
16 – 17 mars 2017 – “Labo sur l’accélérateur linéaire” – Université Laval, Québec, QC; Facilitator: Dr. Luc Gingras : . January 19, 2017 – “Negotiations Skills” Workshop – 13:30h-16:00h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / le local au Québec du CRCEO; Facilitator: Tom Fullerton : NSERC CREATE-Negotiating Skills Workshop .
December 8, 2016 – “Individual Development Plan” Workshop – 13:30h-16:00h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / le local au Québec du CRCEO; Facilitator: Lorna MacEachern : NSERC CREATE-Individual Development Plan Workshop . September 29, 2016 – “Conflict Management” Workshop; 13:30h-15:30h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / le local au Québec du CRCEO; Facilitator: Tom Fullerton : NSERC CREATE-Conflict Management Workshop .
August 24, 2016 – Cancer Research Program : Discover-Cure-Prevent is organizing the “Summer Student Research Day” on August 26, 2016 in Montreal, Glen Auditorium Summer Student Program .
August 10, 2016 – MPRTN student Avishek Chatterjee has been awarded with Terry Fox Scholarship .
July 22, 2016 – MPRTN student André Diamant-Boustead wins Second Prize at J. R. Cunningham Young Investigators Symposium at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists – Congratulations to the 2016 COMP Award Winners! .
June 20 – 22, 2016 – Premier Sommet sur les Biomarqueurs et les Avancées Thérapeutiques en Radio-oncologie / First Summit on Biomarkers and Therapeutic Advances in Radiation Oncology Invitation, Montreal June 20-22, 2016. Annonce: Premier Sommet sur les Biomarqueurs et les Avancées Thérapeutiques en Radio-oncologie : First Summit on Biomarkers and Therapeutic Advances in Radiation Oncology Invitation, Montreal June 20-22 .
June 3, 2016 – “Grant Review Exercise MDPH 702 & CREATE event” 09h-17h – Glen Site DS1-7011; Attendees: Ms. Eva Alonso, Mr. Martin Carrier-Vallieres, Dr. Avishek Chatterjee, Ms. Susannah Hickling, Dr. Sangkyu Lee, Mr. Piotr Pater, Mr. James Renaud, Ms. Judy Wang, Mr. Peter Watson . June 2, 2016 – “Negotiating Skills Workshop” 10h-13h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / le local au Québec est le 00897-2 du CRCEO; Facilitator: Ms. Lorna MacEachern : NSERC CREATE-Negotiationg Skills Workshop .
May 19, 2016 – “Leading Effective Discussions” 10h-13h – Glen Site DS1-5034 / le local au Québec est le 00897-2 du CRCEO; Facilitator : Ms. Joan Butterworth : NSERC CREATE-Leading Effective Discussions Workshop .
May 13, 2016 – MPRTN NSERC CREATE summer student James Renaud won a 2016 McGill Dobson Cup Award : “Health Sciences Track Award”. Read more . 2016 McGill Dobson Cup Award – James Renaud .
April 10, 2016 – MPRTN NSERC CREATE summer student James Renaud one of the four highlighted abstracts of ESTRO 35 . “Graphite Calorimeter Probe” ESTRO – James Renaud .
March 15, 2016 – Une équipe de l’IR-CUSM reçoit une subvention pour améliorer le traitement du cancer par radiothérapie / RI-MUHC team receives funding to develop improved radiation treatment devices for cancer patients. Read more and listen to the podcast with Dr. Enger: Une équipe de lIRCUSM reçoit une subvention pour améliorer le traitement du cancer par radiothérapie RIMUHC team receives funding to develop improved radiation treatment devices for cancer patients and McGill researchers to get CFI grants : McGill Reporter .
February 1, 2016 – Medical Physics Web – Editor’s choice: Direct reconstruction of the source intensity distribution of a clinical linear accelerator using a maximum likelihood expectation maximization algorithm, P Papaconstadopoulos, I R Levesque, R Maglieri and J Seuntjens Phys. Med. Biol. 61 1078. December 4 -5, 2015 – AQPMC – Student day (December 4, 2015) and meeting (December 5, 2015) – Glen Site ES1-1129 – RI MUHC Auditorium. AQPMC_Booklet_v3 .
December 3, 2015 – “Business plan workshop” 10h-13h – Glen Site DS1-5034. November 19, 2015 – Information regarding New Mitacs Business Development Specialist – read more : New Mitacs Business Development Specialist .
November 13, 2015 – Invitation for course : “Starting your Business in the Quartier de l’innovation” on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 as a part of the “Innovation week” at McGill University – read more Starting your Business in the Quartier de l’innovation ;Link: https://www.mcgill.ca/qi/events/innovation-week/2015 ; Registration: https://www.mcgill.ca/research/register-mcgill-innovation-week-opening-rosie-goldstein-and-innovation-practice-panel . November 17, 2015 – Intellectual Property Workshop “John Thomson – How to Market an Invention” – McGill University, MacDonald Engineering Building, Room 267 – Registration required online – Invitation IP Workshop Poster Nov 2015 . October 30, 2015 – MPRTN NSERC CREATE summer student Emily Cloutier won a prize at the Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference this fall for her presentation “Characterization of the Cd/Se quantum dots response when irradiated at ionising energies for a dosimetry application”. 12191807_10153535624225218_3774773226004522339_n ; http://www.cap.ca/sites/cap.ca/files/cupc_2015_poster_-_a4_size.pdf . October 29, 2015 – Un article du groupe de recherche s’illustre parmi les choix de l’éditeur ! L’article s’intitule : Systematic evaluation of photodetector performance for plastic scintillation dosimetry; Félicitation aux co-auteurs : Jonathan Boivin, Sam Beddar, Maxime Guillemette et Luc Beaulieu ! http://scitation.aip.org/content/aapm/journal/medphys/42/11/10.1118/1.4931979 . September 25, 2015 – MPRTN NSERC CREATE PhD student Martin Vallières has been awarded the First Prize in the “Rising Stars in Medical Physics Symposium” of the Medical Physics Research Training Network for his presentation entitled “RADIOMICS: Mais Ou Et Donc Car Ni Or? (who, what, why, where, when)” at the “Career paths and Industry workshop for Medical Physics Research Training Network”, 24-25 September, 2015, Montreal, QC, Canada.Link to presentation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/edmltoyafvoz0qh/Radiomics_25Sept2015.pptx?dl=0 . September 24-25, 2015 – “Career paths and Industry workshop for Medical Physics Research Training Network” – Medical Physics CREATE event – Glen Site, RI MUHC, Bloc E, Auditorium ES1.1129,1001 Décarie Boulevard,Montreal QC H4A 3J1 Program_NSERC CREATE-Career paths and Industry workshop for MPRTN V2 ; Presentations: Marie-Ève Delage: Marie-Ève_Presentation_symposium_MED ; James Renaud: Renaud_CREATE rising stars in MedPhys ; Dmitri Matenine: Dmitri_ppt-2015-09-25-final ; Sangkyu Lee: ; Daniel Markel: ; Pavlos Papaconstadopoulos: . September 21, 2015 – Invitation for Mitacs (a non-profit Canadian organization) Info session: “Mitacs internship opportunities that bridge academia and industry” – RI MUHC, Glen Site, EM1.3509, 1001 Decarie Blvd, Montreal, H4A 3J1 Mitacs flyer . Carreer paths and Industrial Workshop – Photos . September 10, 2015 – MPRTN PhD student, Lalageh Mirzakhanian obtained the AGBU International Educational Scholarship . August 19, 2015 – MPRTN PhDstudent James Renaud has been awarded a 1 year scholarship from The Terry Fox Foundation Strategic Training Initiative for Excellence in Radiation Research for the 21st Century (EIRR21) . ARCHIVE: August 13, 2015 – MPRTN PhDstudent James Renaud has been awarded the Schulich scholarship for 2015-2016 . July 14-16, 2015 – MPRTN PhD student Yana Zlateva received at the 2015 Annual Meeting “Best in Physics (Therapy) Award” for “Cherenkov Emission Dosimetry: Feasibility for Electron Radiotherapy” at AAPM 57th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, 14-16 July, Anaheim, CA. June 29, 2015 – Medical Physics Web – Editor’s choice: A radiomics model from joint FDG-PET and MRI texture features for the prediction of lung metastases in soft-tissue sarcomas of the extremities, M Vallières, C R Freeman, S R Skamene and I El Naqa Phys. Med. Biol. 60 5471. June 17-19, 2015 – “Molecular & Clinical Radiobiology Workshop” – Cedars Cancer Centre, Glen Site, DS1-1427, MUHC, 1001 Decarie Blvd, Montreal, H4A 3J1 Workshop Molecular Clinical Radiobiology June 17_19_2015 Brochure_April 7 2015. Juin 6-12, 2015 – Le prix Sylvia Fedoruk 2014 décerné par l’Organisation canadienne des physiciens médicaux pour le meilleur article en physique médicale au Canada a été remis à Mathieu Goulet, Madison Rilling (RFRPM CRSNG FONCER étudiante), Luc Gingras, Sam Beddar, Luc Beaulieu et Louis Archambault pour l’article “Novel, full 3D scintillation dosimetry using a static plenoptic camera”, publié dans la revue Médical Physics (Med Phys 2014;082101(8):1–13.). Le prix a été remis lors du Congrès mondial de physique et ingénierie biomédical tenu à Toronto du 6 au 12 juin dernier – IMG_4679 . May 21, 2015 – Workshop: ‘IP:what’s in it for you?’ & “John Thompson caste study” – 1650 rue Cedar, D5-390 NSERC CREATE-IP Training Workshop . April 8, 2015 – Announcing the AAPM Science Council Associates Mentorship Program – read more. March 30-31, 2015 – Workshop: ‘From Track Structure to Clinical Outcomes and Reverse’ – 3650 rue McTavish, Ballroom Thomson House – at McGill Campus Agenda30_31_March . March 27, 2015 – Conference presentations Workshop: “How to give a talk” – Montreal General Hospital, D5-930 (9:15 am – 10:00 am) NSERC CREATE-Conference Presentations Workshop Med Phys Conf Presentation(2) . March 23, 2015 – MPRTN student Madison Rilling got selected for the Cogito competition. She will be presenting her thesis on TV (Canal savoir) – read more. February 12, 2015 – Graphos workshop: Conference abstract writing – Room 1041 at 688 Sherbrooke St. West (10th floor) – at McGill Campus; 10:00 – 17:00h Anatomy of abstract 20150217 Med Phys FINAL Medical Physics Conferences and Competitions 20150217 , Med Phys FINAL , Anatomy of abstract 20150217 . December 1, 2014 – MPRTN student James Renaud won the 2014 Reginald Fessenden Prize in Science Innovation, graduate student category. The Prize recognizes his excellent work, coupled with a good understanding of its commercialization potential, in the research project entitled “Graphite Probe Calorimeter: The first absolute dosimeter for clinical radiation therapy.” On behalf of Dean Martin Grant, Faculty of Science. November 15, 2014 – Atelier 2014, AQPMC Association québécoise des physicien(ne)s medicaux. L’atelier aura lieu le samedi 15 novembre 2014 au CHUM – 8:30- read more . November 14, 2014 – Journée étudiante 2014, AQPMC Association québécoise des physicien(ne)s medicaux. La journée étudiante aura lieu le vendredi 14 novembre 2014 au CHUM – 8:30- read more . November, 2014 – MPRTN student, Jonathan Boivin, RSNA Travel Award (2014), for presentation “A New and Accurate Tool for Live Skin Dose Monitoring in Interventional Radiology: Measuring Dose without Compromise. November, 2014 – MPRTN student, Marie-Ève Delage, Deuxième prix du jury pour présentation orale, Journée scientifique des étudiants du CRC 2014. November, 2014 – MPRTN student, Patricia Dugyau-Drouin, Troisième prix du jury pour présentation orale, Journée scientifique des étudiants du CRC 2014. October 29, 2014 – Minisymposium: “Cluster pattern analysis of radiotherapy radiation modalities. October 29, 2014 at Montreal General Hospital – Room D5-227; 12:00 – 16:00-Tentative_Schedule29_30_Oct . October 14, 2014 -The Gobal Research Collaborations Team would like to remind you that the abstracts for the Research Partnership Symposium are due November 1st, 2014. Please submit your abstract to research.symposium@varian.com. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact: Timo Berkus, PhD, Manager, Global Research Collaborations; Varian Medical Systems Deutschland GmbH; Alsfelder Straße 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany; cell: +49 151 113 58407; landline: +49 911 937 69259; mailto: Timo.Berkus@varian.com; web: www.varian.com. Please adhere to the following guidelines: – Maximum length = 250 words, not including the title, authors, institution, city, state and country. – You may insert a graphic, which may be color or black-and-white. The graphic can be up to half of the page in size, i.e., a maximum size of 6.5″ x 4.5″. – Graphics may be submitted in JPG, GIF, PNG and TIFF format with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI. – Please use 12-point Times New Roman font. Please use 1″ margins on all four sides of an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper. – Please provide a personal photograph along with the abstract to be included in the symposium proceedings. Read more: . September 14-17, 2014 – MPRTN student Yana Zlateva received at the 2014 Annual Meeting “The Basic Science Abstract Award” in Radiation Physics at ASTRO’s 56th Annual Meeting, September 14-17, 2014, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. – read more . August 26, 2014 – Session videos from the MR in RT symposiums at WUSTL are now on youtube – read more . August 22, 2014 – Formations de Calcul Québec et aux événements en calcul informatique de pointe / Calcul Quebec Training Workshops and to other events in Advanced Computing – Invitation Calcul Canada. July 21, 2014 – MPRTN student Susannah Hickling wins First Prize at the John R. Cameron Young Investigators Competition at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine – read more. July 11, 2014 – MPRTN student James Coates wins First Prize at J. R. Cunningham Young Investigators Symposium at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists- read more . July 11, 2014 – MPRTN student Dominique Guillet wins Second Prize at J. R. Cunningham Young Investigators Symposium at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists – read more . July 11, 2014 – MPRTN student James Renaud wins the Sylvia Fedoruk Award for Best paper in Medical Physics in Canada – read more . June 17 – 20, 2014 International Workshop on Monte Carlo Techniques in Medical Physics http://www.mcw2014.phy.ulaval.ca .
July 17, 2018 Physics World: André Diamant: Irradiation beyond the target may reduce distant metastases. read more: Irradiation beyond the target may reduce distant metastases – Physics World
June 14, 2016 La Presse: Dr. Luc Beaulieu: (Québec) L’Université Laval a annoncé lundi la création d’une nouvelle chaire de recherche en technologies biomédicales pour la curiethérapie, une technique de radiothérapie utilisée contre le cancer. read more: http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/sante/201606/13/01-4991368-nouvelle-chaire-de-recherche-pour-la-curietherapie-a-luniversite-laval.php .
February 22, 2016 ESTRO 35: ESTRO has a tradition of publishing a conference report featuring abstracts selected by chairs of each track. The aim is to give readers some flavour of the type of innovative science presented in an area. Abstract ( J. Renaud, A. Sarfehnia, J. Seuntjens Experimental benchmarking of a probe-format calorimeter for use as an absolute clinical dosimeter ) submitted to ESTRO 35 is one of the five that was selected out of the numerous submitted under physics track.
January 25, 2016 Huge gains made in breast cancer treatment at the MUHC: An ongoing clinical trial using new intraoperative technology is producing significant results for breast cancer patients, HEALTHCANAL. – read more
July 28, 2015 There is a new book available which may be of interest to some of you: “Radio sensitizers and Radiochemotherapy in the Treatment of Cancer”, Author: Dr. Shirley Lehnert. Use of the promo code on the flyer would get you a 20% discount if ordered from the publisher and in addition the author will be happy to sign copies. Seize the opportunity! – K11427_output-1
ARCHIVE:
December 18, 2014 “Un nouveau réseau en physique médicale / New Network a boon for medical physicists”, Jan Seuntjens, The Fall 2014 Newsletter of the Research Institute of the MUHC, 2013-2014 RI-MUHC Annual Report (Adult and Pediatric Research), pp. 10 AnnualReport_RI_2013-2014 October 2014 “International Workshop on Monte Carlo Techniques in Medical Physics”, Philippe Déspres, Interactions, Canadian Medical Physics Newsletter 60 (4), pp. 121 read more
October 23, 2014 “Collègues de long date” par Matthieu Dessureault, Le journal de la communauté universitaire, Université Laval – read more
October 15, 2014 Interview with MPRTN student, Martin Carrier-Vallières regarding Image analysis predicts therapy response – Medicalphysicsweb
July 30, 2014 Interview with MPRTN student, James Coates regarding genetic prostate work conducted at AAPM by Dr. Tami Freeman – Medicalphysicsweb
August 12, 2013 McGill Channels: New network in medical physics August 12, 2013 Biotechnology Focus: New network in medical physics
July 31, 2013 McGill Reporter: New medical physics network receives $ 1.65 million in NSERC funding
May 17, 2019 – Post-doctoral position opening at IMNC (NARA team) in Novel bio-inspiring microsensors for improving protontherapy treatments.
Postdoc related to new microsensors to protontherapy treatment improvements (24 months, expected starting date: 1st October, 2019 in Campus d’Orsay, IMNC-CNRS). The position points to create a medical instrument for optimization of hadrontherapy treatments. The postdoc will work directly with another researcher of the New Approaches in Radiotherapy group at IMNC. In this research group we work in the interface between medical physics, computer science and radiobiology. The candidate should have a PhD in Physics, Medical Physics or Computing Science. More information in: https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UMR8165-CONGUA-001/Default.aspx?lang=EN . Portail Emploi CNRS Job offer HF Postdoc position in Novel bioinspiring microsensors for improving protontherapy treatments .
November 15, 2018 – The Imaging Physics Residency Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has three Resident/Fellow positions opening for 2019. Introduction of recent development in the 3-year Fellow training, the hybrid pathway, which is the current emphasis of the program. This pathway is designed to allow the academically focused trainee to continue their research trajectory while completing the clinical training requirements for ABR certification. They are looking for the best-and-brightest who hope to become the academic medical imaging physics leaders of the future .
The hybrid pathway provides a unique opportunity that combines clinical and research training. During the 3-year appointment, the resident enrolled in the hybrid pathway, with the title MD Anderson Fellow in Medical Physics, will receive two years of full-time equivalent clinical training in our CAMPEP-accredited residency program while performing one year equivalent of full-time research. Each Fellow is matched with a dedicated member of the MD Anderson faculty who serves as a research mentor. Throughout the three years, a protected research week will be scheduled between every two clinical weeks to ensure long-term and in-depth research developments. The hybrid pathway is designed for Ph.D. graduates in medical physics or related fields, who want to continue performing scholarly research during the residency training and aim to become an academic clinical imaging physicist. More information can be found in the attached hybrid pathway brochure and our Program website ( www.mdanderson.org/imaging-physics-residency-program ). HybridPathwayBrochure .
Applications through the AAPM medical physics residency application program (www.aapm.org/mprap) will be accepted until December 17, 2018. They are prioritizing the 3-yr hybrid fellows, although they also welcome applications to the traditional 2-yr residency. Additionally, this year, one position will be prioritized for applicants interested in nuclear medicine research .
November 14, 2018 – Boston Children’s Hospital, in conjunction with Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, has launched a new Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medical Physics Residency Program. They have recently received CAMPEP accreditation. They are also pleased to announce that they have received a grant from the AAPM supporting the development of new residency slots in diagnostic imaging and nuclear medicine. This program consists of a two-year residency designed to train medical physicists to work independently in the chosen specialized field of diagnostic medical physics or nuclear medical physics. Last year was their first year with our first resident starting in July 2018. The program is based at Boston Children’s Hospital in the Harvard Longwood Medical area of Boston with rotations at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Nuclear medicine residents will also spend time at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Graduates of the program are expected to complete the process of board certification in the chosen specialty by a recognized certifying body such as the American Board of Radiology (ABR in either diagnostic or nuclear medical physics), American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (ABSNM), or Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM). In addition, the training prepares the resident to perform other aspects of an imaging physicist’s responsibilities including teaching, research, radiation safety, and administration.
The first sixteen months of the residency consists of eight two-month rotations in the following areas:
General Radiographic Imaging and Mammography
Fluoroscopy and Interventional Radiology
Radiation Safety
Nuclear Medicine
Computed Tomography
MRI
Informatics
Ultrasound
The last eight months of the residency consists of elective rotations and includes assigned teaching to radiology or nuclear medicine residents, technologists, and/or other allied health professionals in the hospital. During this time, the resident has the opportunity to participate in clinical and medical physics research. Those choosing nuclear medicine spend Year 1 covering all diagnostic imaging modalities except ultrasound and in Year 2 concentrate entirely on nuclear medicine. A website with additional information regarding program (http://www.childrenshospital.org/medphysresidency ).
Applications will be accepted until December 31, 2018 through the AAPM medical physics residency application website (www.aapm.org/mprap ). They also participate in MedPhys Match (https://natmatch.com/medphys/ ). Interested individuals with any further questions should contact Dr. Frederic Fahey (frederic.fahey@childrens.harvard.edu , 617-355-2809).
November 1, 2017 – The University of California, San Diego is opening a postdoctoral fellow position. A Postdoctoral Fellow position is available in the Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. The successful candidate will be involved in a project on advanced imaging and motion management strategies for pancreas SBRT. Candidates with a doctoral degree in Medical Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field, are welcome to apply. Strong preference will be given to applicants with solid programming skills and knowledge of image analysis, motion management, and radiation therapy. UC San Diego is an Equal Opportunity Employer with a strong institutional commitment to excellence through diversity. If interested, please email your curriculum vitae, along with a cover letter and the contact information for three referees, to: Laura Cervino, PhD, DABR, Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, UC San Diego ( lcervino@ucsd.edu ) .
November 1, 2017 – The Faculty of Engineering Technology, capacity group Engineering Technology, research institute Research Institute: Centre for Environmental Sciences, research group Nuclear Technology Centre of Hasselt University seeks a (m/f) PhD student in small animal precision image-guided irradiation. To view the announcement, please go to : UHasselt seeks a PhD student in small animal precision image-guided irradiation.
August 28, 2017 – The University of Toronto Residency Program in Radiation Oncology Physics in Toronto is looking for 2 Medical Physics Residents starting in January 2018. To view the announcement, please go to : Job Posting – Medical Physics Residents
August 25, 2017 – Elekta Operational Physics team is offering a four-month internship program based in Atlanta, GA, USA for recent medical physics graduates . To view the announcement, please go to : https://elekta.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Elekta_Careers/job/Atlanta/Intern–Operational-Physics_R2017-122 .
ARCHIVE: January 3, 2017 – The SCK-CEN in Belgium invites applications for a PhD position. This PhD project is in collaboration with researchers from LNL Legnaro (Italy). The student will be some time in Italy and in Belgium . SCK-CEN would need to find candidates with good background in physics, electronics and radiation physics. To view the announcement, please go to : http://academy.sckcen.be/en/Your_thesis_internship/AllTopics/Microdosimetry-of-therapeutic-proton-beams-1439 .
November 28, 2016 – The Radiological Sciences Program in the Department of Physics at the University of Massachusetts Lowell invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position at the Assistant Professor rank. Areas of research interest include radiation biology, radiochemistry, radiation detector development, internal dosimetry, nanotechnology applications (nanofilms and nanoparticles), and other aspects of Radiological Science, as highlighted in the attached advertisement. Applicants should apply on-line at https://jobs.uml.edu . To view the announcement, please go to : Radiological Sciences UMass Lowell .
October 14, 2016 – Elekta Operational Physics team is offering a four-month internship program based in Atlanta, GA, USA for recent Medical Physicists graduates . To view the announcement, please go to : E&T_Physics_Recruitment_Flyer_sans_crop . The application link : https://uscareers-elekta.icims.com/jobs/4819/job?mobile=false&width=1148&height=500&bga=true&needsRedirect=false&jan1offset=-300&jun1offset=-240 .
April 7, 2016 – The University of Texas, Health Science Centre in Houston is looking for Medical Physics Resident (Diagnostic/Nuclear Medicine). To view the announcement, please go to Medical Physics Resident (Diagnostic:Nuclear Medicine) – UT Health, Houston, TX .
April 6, 2016 – National Physical laboratory in the UK is looking to appoint the Principal Research Scientist in Radiation Dosimetry Team. To view the announcement, please go to Job Advert (contact e-mail: marion.lebihan@henleyresearch.com) .
March 4, 2016 – A two-year postdoctoral fellowship available in the Division of Medical Physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Johns Hopkins University (JHU. To view the announcement, please go to JHU_Postdoc_Ad_2016 .
February 27, 2016 – Postdoctoral Fellow* in Medical Physics position: The medical physics research group of CHU de Quebec (physmed.fsg.ulaval.ca) and Université Laval (http://www.ulaval.ca) is seeking a postdoctoral fellow to work on cutting edge brachytherapy projects involving both experimental and numerical aspects, with potential for pre-clinical validation and implementation as well. To view the announcement, please go to annonce_postdoc_2016 .
January 8, 2016 – Therapeutic Medical Physicist – VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX :The VA North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, Texas is currently recruiting for a Therapeutic Medical Physicist in the Radiation Oncology Department. To view the announcement, please go to https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/PrintPreview/425402300. Refer to Announcement Number AH-16-DLD-1587901. Applications are being accepted from Friday, January 8, 2016 until Friday, January 15, 2016. If there are any questions, please contact our local HR department at 214-857-1701.
December 17, 2015 – Département de physique, génie physique et d’optique, Faculté des sciences et de génie, Université Laval: The Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics at Université Laval’s Faculty of Science and Engineering invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in the field of Medical Physics. Read more: https://www.rh.ulaval.ca/cms/site/rh/lang/fr_FR/accueil/emplois/emplois_professeurs?offre=68490&lang=en .
October 29, 2015 – RQMP – Poste/Position – Expert-conseil junior en technologie nucléaire – Detec – Gatineau / Junior consultant in nuclear technology – Detec – Gatineau. Read more: http://www.rqmp.ca/files/Postes-ext/Poste_2015.pdf .
October 1, 2015 – L’Université de Montréal a accepté un nouveau poste de professeur agrégé en imagerie de résonance magnétique. Ils recherchent des candidatures techniques et non cliniques. Read more: Affichage professeur IRM 2015-final-format UdeM-V2 Affichage professeur IRM 2015 – anglais – final – UdeM format – V2 .
July 24, 2015 – Assistant Professor position in Medical Physics, Department of Oncology, McGill University – Job Posting_Assistant Professor in Medical Physics, Department of Oncology, McGill University.
July 10, 2015 – Post-doc position in the Carleton Laboratory for Radiotherapy Physics – read more . June 09, 2015 – The Faculty if Engineering Technology, capacity group Engineering Technology, research institute Research Institute: Centre for Environmental Sciences, research group Nuclear Technology Centre of Hasselt University looking for PhD student dosimetry for radiotherapy – UHasselt vacature_en .
January 21, 2015 – Le groupe de recherche en physique médicale du Département de physique, de génie physique et d’optique de l’Université Laval (www.physmed.fsg.ulaval.ca) et du CHU de Québec (www.chuq.qc.ca) est à la recherche de candidates et candidats intéressés par des projets de maîtrise (MSc) et de doctorat (PhD) portant sur divers sujets allant du calcul numérique haute performance sur carte graphique (GPU) à la conception de dosimètres utilisant les scintillateurs plastiques – Annonce MSc-PhD 2015.
December 11, 2014 – The Department of Physics at Louisiana State University is seeking outstanding candidates for a tenure-track faculty position, at the level of Assistant Professor, in the Medical Physics Program within the Department of Physics at Louisiana State University – 2014-12-11 announcement – Medical Physics Program within the Department of Physics at Louisiana State University.
December 3, 2014 – The Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, invites applications for two tenure-track appointments at the rank of Assistant Professor, to begin as early as July 1, 2015. The positions will be held in Unit 5 in the Barber School (read more) Job Posting – Offre d’emploi _ Two Assistant Professors (Physics).
November 24, 2014 – The German Cancer Research Center (DFKZ) in Heidelberg is looking for a PhD student for project “Analytical probabilistic uncertainty management for carbon ion treatment planning – PhDPositionDFG_Heidelberg. October 23, 2014 – Radiation Oncology Physics Residents (2), the Washington University in St. Louis. Radiation Oncology Department. The 2-year training position begins July 1, 2015 Washington University in St. Louis.
October 22, 2014 – Faculty position in Medical Physics, the University of Victoria. The Department of Physics and Astronomy invites applications for a tenure track Assistant Position in the area of medical physics. The appointment will be effective July 1, 2015 2014-MP-Advert.
July 30, 2014 – Postdoc position at the Department of Radiation Physics, the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. If you have Monte Carlo experience and you are looking for a postdoc position please contact Dr. Gabriel O. Sawakuchi, Assistant Professor at the Department of Radiation Physics, the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Unit 94, Houston, RX Tel: Office: 713-794-4034; Lab: 7013-794-5009. Email: gsawakuchi@mdanderson.org.