COURSE DIRECTOR

Catharine Clark, National Physical Laboratory, London (UK)

TEACHERS

• Catharine Clark, National Physical Laboratory, London (UK)
• Eduard Gershkevitsh, North Estonia Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia (EST)
• Victor Hernandez, Hospital Universitari Sant Joan de Reus, Reus, Spain (ES)
• Stephen Kry, MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, Texas (USA)
• Sarah Misson-Yates, Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital, London (UK)

HANDS-ON PRACTICAL LEADER

• Mohammad Hussein, National Physical Laboratory, London (UK)

GUEST LECTURERS

• Russell Thomas, National Physical Laboratory, London (UK)
• Tony Palmer, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, (UK)

Local organiser

Catharine Clark, National Physical Laboratory, London (UK)

This advanced course, based at the National Physical Laboratory in London, aims to provide training which will allow participants to develop dosimetry audit, as well as learn how to select and use the most appropriate equipment, report the results and what to do when errors and issues are found. The goal is to give the participants hands-on experience and the opportunity to partake in discussion with experienced auditors, such that they are then in a strong position to take their new skills away and apply them in setting up new dosimetry audits for a variety of reasons. This will be very practical course through the integration of lectures, discussions and real-world scenarios. The program is aimed to be an introduction to the key elements of dosimetry auditing with worked examples and advice, as well as the opportunity to try out techniques under the guidance of experts. The faculty will include experts from standards laboratories, clinical trials quality assurance groups and dosimetry audit networks, who have not only carried out audits themselves but have also developed approaches for validating advanced radiotherapy techniques.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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

• Understand the clinical relevance and impact of audit

• Select the most appropriate detectors and phantoms
• Make effective measurements in reference and end-to-end conditions
• Determine the appropriate tolerances to set
• Understand how to report the audit results
• Understand what to do when issues are found

COURSE CONTENT

• Clinical relevance of audit
• How to design a good audit
• Choosing the right tools
• Determining the uncertainty budget
• Setting audit tolerances
• Reference dosimetry vs. end-to-end vs. comprehensive audits
• On-site vs. remote vs. virtual audits
• Novel audit methodologies
• Lessons learned from dosimetry audits
• Reporting audit results and follow-up
• Effective film dosimetry
• Using patient specific QA devices
• Reference and small field dosimetry
• End-to-end VMAT/SBRT audit
• Specific TPS planned scenarios
• Reporting on case studies with problems

PREREQUISITES

Before commencing this course, participants should:

• Have good knowledge of radiotherapy dosimetry measurement and calculation

TEACHING METHODS

• 8 hours of lectures
• 18 hours of hands-on practicals
• 4 hours of discussions.

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT

• MCQ
• Evaluation form.

Programme is available here.

KEY WORDS

Radiotherapy dosimetry, audit, measurement

FURTHER READING

Please consult the ESTRO website page of this course for further information.

ACCREDITATION

Application for CPD recognition will be submitted to the European Board for Accreditation in Medical Physics (EBAMP), as a CPD event for medical physicists. Information on the status of the applications can be obtained from the ESTRO office.

National Physical Laboratory

Hampton Road,

Teddington,

Middlesex, TW11 0LW

Membership

ESTRO members can order products at substantially reduced prices. To benefit from the member registration rate, you must subscribe for the ESTRO membership 2023 BEFORE registering to the course. To become an ESTRO member, benefit from the member registration rate and discover the many other member advantages, please visit the membership page.

Fees

* Members with specialty RadiationTherapist (RTT) may register at the In-Training fee

Early rates are applied up to three months before the starting date of the course.

Late rates are applied three months before the starting date of the course.

The fee includes the course material, coffees, lunches, and the social event.

Advance registration & payment are required.

Since the number of participants is limited, late registrants are advised to contact the ESTRO office before payment, to inquire about availability of places. Access to homework and/or course material will become available upon receipt of full payment.

Insurance and cancellation

The organiser does not accept liability for individual medical, travel or personal insurance. Participants are strongly advised to take out their own personal insurance policies.   

In case an unforeseen event would force ESTRO to cancel the meeting, the Society will reimburse the participants fully the registration fees. ESTRO will not be responsible for the refund of travel and accommodation costs.

In case of cancellation, full refund of the registration fee minus 15% for administrative costs may be obtained up to three months before the course and 50% of the fee up to one month before the course. No refund will be made if the cancellation request is postmarked less than one month before the start of the course.

Reduced fees

Members from emerging countries may register at a preferential rate of 350 Euro. Emerging country fee applies to individuals from low-income and lower-middle-income economies according to the World Bank listing here.

Additionally, all specialties from the following countries can benefit from this preferential rate: 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.  In addition, medical physicists from Cyprus can email education@estro.org to apply for this fee.

The preferential rate of 350 Euro is granted automatically when you click on the  BOOK NOW  button and the three conditions below are met:

1. Only ESTRO members for 2023 are eligible (please make sure your 2023 membership is in order before you click on the BOOK NOW  button)
2. Only one course per person per year can be subsidized by ESTRO
3. Sponsored candidates are not entitled to reduced fees (the invoicing address has to be the one of the participant)  

 Please note:

• We can only guarantee a certain number of reduced fees per course
• Application deadlines are the same as early registration fees (3 months before the course date).