Anatomy and Physiology

Recommended Prerequisites

The student must have the appropriate background in Radiation Physics.

Teaching Methods

Teaching:

• Face-to-face theoretical teaching lectures (45%);

• Practical classes in clinical environment (30%)

• Tutorials: e-learning (5%)

• Students presentations (10%)

• Tutorials: monitoring of the students preparation of the presentations and the short monograph

Knowledge assessment will be done through the following assays, corresponding to the stated percentage for the final classification:

- Initial diagnosis test (0%);

- Short monograph and corresponding oral presentation (20%)

- Practicals reports (20%)

- e-learning certificate (10%)

- Final exam (50%).

Learning Outcomes

Medical physicists in radiotherapy are members of clinical multiprofessional teams responsible for patient treatments. Their specific contribution is providing the scientific basis of the physical and technical processes that support the treatment process in radiotherapy, assuring its quality and safety. Medical physicists are responsible for the equipment procurement, acceptance and calibration as well as for the basic dosimetry, commissioning, and treatment dose planning, including plan optimization. Either equipment and patient specific quality control tests are part of the treatment process quality assurance. This is the framework of this curricular unit (CU), aiming at providing the students with the physical and technical fundamentals concerning equipment, techniques and procedures and also developing the skills for critical vision in solving problems and competences of qualified response.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. General introduction to radiotherapy

2. Dosimetry in radiotherapy

2.1. Reference dosimetry; Codes of Practice

2.2. Detectors and dosimetry systems

2.3. Phantoms

2.4. Small field dosimetry

3. External Beam Radiotherapy

3.1. Treatment units

3.2. Acceptance and commissioning

3.3. Basic dosimetry

3.4. Clinical dosimetry: dose calculation algorithms, treatment planning and plan evaluation

3.5. Quality control and quality assurance

4. Brachytherapy

4.1. Equipment and treatment techniques

4.2. Radioactive sources and source specification

4.3. Clinical dosimetry and dose calculations

4.4. Quality assurance, radiation protection and safety

5. Particle therapy

6. Mathematical modelling in Radiotherapy

7. Safety culture and accident prevention in radiotherapy

8. Quality management in radiotherapy

8.1. Quality systems and risk management

8.2 Quality control and quality assurance

8.3. Quality audits.

Head Lecturer(s)

Maria do Carmo Carrilho Calado Antunes Lopes

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Other: 10.0%
Resolution Problems: 20.0%
Synthesis work: 20.0%
Exam: 50.0%

Bibliography

ESTRO Booklet series

AAPM report series

ICRU report series

Absorbed Dose Determination in External Beam Radiotherapy, TRS-398, IAEA 2000

P. Andreo, D. T. Burns, A. Nahum, J. Seuntjens, F. H. Attix, Fundamentals of Ionizing Radiation Dosimetry, Wiley-VGH, 2017

Williams JR, Thwaites DI (Eds.). Radiotherapy physics in practice, Oxford University Press, 2nd Ed. 2000

Webb S. Contemporary IMRT Developing Physics and Clinical Implementation. IOP Publishing Ltd. Bristol, UK, 2005

Van Dyke J (Ed.).The Modern Technology of Radiation Oncology Volume 2. Medical Physics, Publishing, Madison, Wisconsin, 2005

Podgorsak EB, Radiation oncology physics: a handbook for teachers and students, IAEA, Vienna, 2005

The Physics of Modern Brachytherapy for Oncology. Series in medical physics and biomedical engineering.. CRC Press. 2007

IAEA. Lessons Learned from Accidental Exposures in Radiotherapy, Safety Reports Series No. 17, 2000