FACULTY

Course director 
Mischa Hoogeman, Medical Physicist, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL)

Co-chair 
Carmen Rubio, Radiation Oncologist, Hospital Universitario HM Sanchinarro, Madrid (ES) 

Teachers 

•    Sofie Ceberg, Medical Physicist, Skåne University Hospital, Lund (SE) 

•    Lone Hoffmann, Medical Physicist, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus (DK)

•    Eva Onjukka, Medical Physicist, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm (SE) 

•    Valentina Vanoni, Radiation Oncologist, Ospedale Santa Chiara di Trento, Trento (IT)

•    Maja Vestmø Maraldo, Radiation Oncologist, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (DK)

To present and discuss:

• The scientific basis of IMRT/VMAT and other highly conformal radiation techniques
• The clinical aspects of IMRT/VMAT, including clinical outcomes, site-specific issues, and normal tissue tolerance
• The technical aspects of treatment preparation and treatment delivery
• Dose calculation and the quality assurance process
• Inverse planning optimisation and its practical implementation
• IGRT and adaptive radiotherapy in relation to IMRT/VMAT
• The latest developments in IMRT/VMAT

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course participants should be able to: 

• Describe, at least in qualitative terms, the inverse treatment planning process and potential issues with all elements involved
• List specific contouring requirements for IMRT/VMAT and, in particular for a clinician, assess the extent to which these requirements are fulfilled in their clinical practice
• Judge/revise the appropriateness of the dose-volume-constraints used in their clinical practice with respect to the current state-of-the-art
• Analyse/judge treatment plans with regard to applicability, safety and efficacy
• Evaluate their dosimetry and quality assurance practice with respect to the current standard of practice (specifically for physicists)
• Reassess their procedure in producing highly conformal treatment plans (specifically for a dosimetrist)
• Summarise the overall clinical outcomes and remaining open issues with highly conformal techniques across disease types.

Course Content

This course is a five-day course which will start on Sunday morning with introductory lectures by the faculty  followed by on-site demonstrations showing the practical implementation of IMRT/VMAT of the hosting institute. On the second day a well-balanced mix of technical and clinical lectures will bring all participants up to speed regarding IMRT/VMAT. During the third and the fourth day lectures will be alternated with break-out sessions in which treatment plans, which are prepared by the participants at their institution, will be discussed in small groups. Vendor demonstration sessions are also part of the program. Each day will be closed by summarising and discussing the most important conclusions in an interactive way.

• Rationale of IMRT/VMAT
• Discussion of IMRT/VMAT-specific clinical issues for Head and Neck, Breast, Lung, Gastrointestinal, Prostate, Lymphoma and Gynaecological cancer
• Delivery modalities for IMRT/VMAT and other highly conformal techniques
• Dosimetry and commissioning 
• Quality assurance 
• Imaging and contouring 
• Treatment plan optimization and automation
• Normal tissue tolerance and dose-volume constraints for treatment sites
• Predictive modelling of adverse effects
• Impact of motion and geometrical uncertainties on IMRT 
• IGRT and adaptive IMRT/VMAT
• Clinical case discussions.

Prerequisites

Before commencing this course participants should: 

As a clinician: 

• Be familiar with clinical indications for conformal radiotherapy 
• Have a general understanding of the treatment planning process.

As a physicist: 

• Be familiar with quality assurance measurements for conventional radiotherapy 
• Have a general knowledge of treatment planning for 3DCRT.

As a radiation therapists and dosimetrists:

• Be familiar with technical aspects of preparation and treatment delivery for conventional radiotherapy 
• Have practical experience with treatment planning for 3DCRT.

Teaching Methods

• 17 hours of lectures 
• 3 hours of practical demonstrations in a clinical department 
• 2 hours of software demonstration 
• 3 hours of case discussions

Methods of Assessment

• Interactive MCQs 
• Clinical case discussions

Programme

The final programme can be consulted here

Key Words

IMRT, VMAT, IGRT, target definition, tolerance doses, inverse treatment planning, dose calculation, recent IMRT developments

Accreditation

24 European CME credits (ECMEC®s)

Membership

ESTRO members can order products at substantially reduced prices. Please note that in order to benefit from the member price, you must renew your membership for 2021 before registering to the course.To benefit from these member rates, please visit the membership page to become a member or renew your membership BEFORE proceeding with your order.

Fees

*  All specialties: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine

RTTs and physicists only: Cyprus  

RTTs only: Italy 

To apply for the above rate, please contact education@estro.org at least 2 weeks before the start of the course. Thereafter, the desk rate will be applied.

** Members with specialty Radiation Therapist (RTT) may register at the In Training fee

The standard rate is applied up to 2 weeks before the starting date of the course.

Desk rates are applied 2 weeks before the starting date of the course.      

THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED

Cancellation

A registration to the online workshop may be cancelled without any fees before pre-online course material is sent out. Pre-online course material is sent out a few days before the first workshop lesson. After the pre-online course material is sent out, no refund of the  registration fee is possible.

Fee for ESTRO members working in countries with a less competitive economic background:

ESTRO members working in countries with a less competitive economic background can benefit from the above fees if three conditions are met:

1. Only ESTRO members for 2021 are eligible (please make sure your 2021 membership is in order before you apply for the reduced fees
2. Sponsored candidates are not entitled to these fees (the invoicing address has to be the one of the participant)  
3. Your application is submitted 2 weeks before the course start date