This course will include five sub-sections including :1) History of accelerators, from radium bomb to modern linacs; 2) Linacs and Radiology Devices Commissioning; 3) Fundamentals of radiobiology; 4) Hadrontherapy; and 5) Hands-on Monte Carlo simulation.
502.1 History of accelerators, from radium bomb to modern linacs – Physics underlying charged particles accelerator will be discussed, from conventional electron accelerators to research cyclotrons. The engineering and complexity of a modern accelerator for improved accuracy and precision will be presented, with special focus on the technical requirements for high precision radiotherapy. This course includes a 2-hour hands-on session at the machine.
502.2 Linacs and Radiology Devices Commissioning – Machine acceptance, commissioning, and routine dosimetry QA. Imaging modalities QA. High precision radiotherapy QA, Winston Lutz, isocenter sphere. Use of various phantoms including water tank, and detectors including Gafchromic films, TLD and OSLD. Machine selection and tender process. This course includes a 2-hour hands-on session at the machine.
502.3 Fundamentals of radiobiology – This chapter will review the molecular, cellular, and tissue impact of radiation. Dose/fractionation, linear quadratic model, and dose/volume effect. The role of hyperthermia. Low and high dose rate. Impact of oxygen and LET.
502.4 Hadrontherapy – This chapter will review various heavy particle therapies, including protontherapy, neutrontherapy, and carbon ion therapy. This includes particle production, functioning of a cyclotron, dose deposition in matter, beam diffraction and raster scanning, and the modulation of Bragg peak. For particles heavier than alpha this includes the radiobiology including RBE, oxygen effect to calculate the spread of Bragg peak in RBE equivalent. Worldwide development of the technique including pros and cons will be discussed, including clinical results and imaging research. Practical application includes the Model-based approach for protontherapy.
502.5 Hands on Monte Carlo simulation – Workshop on Monte Carlo simulation using research software, with practical examples on 60Co depth dose curve, 120kVp beam hardening, and LDR seeds dose distribution in heterogeneous media.