Accounting for uncertainties in RT: adaptive therapy and robust optimization

The ability to visualize immune responses non-invasively would have tremendous value for basic immunology. In pre-clinical models it would be possible to track events such as the host response to infections, to look at inflammation more generally, and to follow the course of interventions such as checkpoint blocking antibodies in the treatment of tumours.

PET imaging agents require a workflow compatible with the half-life of commonly used isotopes, and must take into account the pharmacokinetic properties of these agents. The specificity of what is being imaged requires the design of compounds that can distinguish between differences in metabolic activity (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose) or that serve as ligands for specific receptors, such as antibodies that recognize surface structures. We have used nanobodies, the smallest antibody-derived fragments that retain antigen-binding capacity. These fragments are ~15 kDa in size, are rapidly cleared from the circulation and are easily modified by chemo-enzymatic means for the installation of metal chelators or click handles to enable radiolabelling. Using nanobodies, we have been able to image various populations of immune cells, and based on longitudinal immuno-PET observations we have been able to make predictions of success and failure in immunotherapy of the B16 mouse melanoma model. The use of 89Zr-labelled nanobodies for immuno-PET will be a powerful adjunct to more conventional, invasive models, and will provide resolution superior to fluorescence- and luminescence-based models.

If you are interested in learning about photonics simulation using the COMSOL Multiphysics® software, then tune into this webinar.

Photonics (the generation, detection, and manipulation of light) plays a fundamental role in modern technology. It is used in a wide range of applications, such as telecommunications, medicine, computing, and manufacturing.

During this webinar, we will discuss using COMSOL Multiphysics® for photonics simulations, in particular periodic structures and crystals. We will show how modeling can provide insight into the design and characterisation of photonic devices. This includes solving for the propagation of electromagnetic waves, even in the presence of wavelength-dependent material properties, as well as multiphysics effects like heating or mechanical loading.

The webinar includes a live demonstration and a Q&A session during which you can ask questions.

After the first demonstration of an optical frequency comb based on a mode-locked laser in 1999, Ti:sapphire lasers with repetition rates around 1 GHz were the sources of choice for scientists around the world. Their key feature was a mode spacing 10 times higher than that of comparable 100 MHz sources (simplifying mode identification) and the ability to generate a fully coherent super-continuum with 100 times more power per mode either directly from the cavity or using an external microstructured fibre (enhancing signal-to-noise ratio). The world’s first optical atomic clock was built in 2001 using a 1 GHz Ti:sapphire laser and subsequently it has been shown that these lasers indeed support an accuracy at the 10–20 level with a 1 s stability at the 10–17 level and optical linewidths at the millihertz level, i.e. ideal candidate clockworks for a new generation of optical atomic clocks. The Ti:sapphire technology has even been taken out to as far as 10 GHz, a regime where individual modes with powers in excess of 1 mW can be separated with a grating spectrometer and used individually for direct spectroscopy, spectrograph calibration or optical arbitrary waveform generation.

To overcome some of the disadvantages of early Ti:sapphire lasers (requirement for frequent alignment, cleaning and use of AO modulators for control purposes) and to make the full advantages of GHz frequency comb technology accessible to the science community, Laser Quantum has developed the hermetically sealed and permanently aligned taccor 1 GHz Ti:sapphire laser featuring an integrated pump laser with direct pump power control. This intervention free laser forms the basis for the new taccor comb system featuring an f-2f interferometer and full comb-stabilization electronics.

This webinar reviews the benefits of gigahertz Ti:sapphire frequency combs and focuses on the recent progress using Laser Quantum‘s hermetically sealed line of taccor lasers.

The UK Quantum Technology Hubs led by the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Oxford and York are offering fully funded PhD studentships in the areas of sensing and metrology, enhanced imaging, quantum computing and secure communications, Find out more about each hub’s research and their partners, and the studentship opportunities available.

The UK Quantum Technology Hubs are part of the UK government’s £270 million National Quantum Technologies Programme set up to exploit the potential of quantum science and develop a range of emerging technologies with the potential to benefit the UK.

If you are interested in modelling smart materials and MEMS using COMSOL Multiphysics®, then tune into this webinar.

Smart materials are materials whose properties or shape respond dynamically to stimuli in their environment. For example, piezoelectric materials experience strain under an applied electric field, while magnetostrictive materials deform in the presence of a magnetic field.

In this live webinar, you will learn how to model MEMS sensors and actuators based on smart materials for a wide range of applications, including vibration and active shape control as well as structural health monitoring and energy harvesting. We will also demonstrate the applicability of the COMSOL Multiphysics® simulation environment for coupling mechanical, electrical and thermal models of smart materials.

At the end of this webinar, you can ask questions during the Q&A session.

How to commission and maintain a proton-therapy system.
Expert physicists explain in detail what it entails.

In the fifth and final of our series of webinars showcasing presentations from the PMB 60th Anniversary Symposium, Robert Jeraj from the University of Wisconsin takes a look at what may lie ahead for medical physics in the next 60 years.

The physics of electromagnetic coupling through space is fundamental to modern technology. It is exploited in some devices such as RFID tags and directional couplers to communicate information. In other devices, electromagnetic interference (EMI) is an unwanted effect that must be controlled: for example, the problem of crosstalk in electrical circuits and cables. In this webinar we will discuss the simulation of electromagnetic coupling in a variety of different applications, considering examples of capacitive, inductive and radiative couplings in frequencies from the kHz to GHz range. We will show how modelling can provide insight into design, either to improve the quality of a communication device, or to mitigate EMI through effective electromagnetic shielding. A live demo will illustrate how to simulate antenna crosstalk using COMSOL Multiphysics®. We will conclude this webinar with a Q&A session.

In the fourth of our series of webinars showcasing presentations from the PMB 60th Anniversary Symposium, Katia Parodi examines the key ingredients of modern adaptive radiotherapy, including fast computational models and methods for in-vivo dose/range assessment. She also takes a look forward to the era of biological guidance.

Almost all clinics, small and large, use magnetic resonance images (MRI) in their treatment-planning workflows. Modern treatment planning requires images of high geometric fidelity with high spatial and contrast resolution to delineate disease extent and proximity to adjacent organs at risk. However, imaging protocols needed for accurate treatment planning differ significantly from those used in diagnostic radiology. As the integration of MRI into radiation oncology is expanding rapidly, a need exists to highlight the considerations for safe and effective implementation. This webinar will describe the major differences from diagnostic MRI, provide an overview of MRI safety and training models, introduce clinical-workflow considerations, and describe the development of a robust quality-assurance programme. Special considerations for motion management and treatment planning will be described.

Optical devices are key components in many areas, such as communications, remote sensing and medical applications, and their role will increase in the future. Simulations are already a very efficient way of optimizing a device, even before the prototype stage. However, simulating optical devices needs distinct consideration due to the special material models, such as graphene, or simply due to the size of the device in relation to the wavelengths of interest.

CST STUDIO SUITE® offers a unique platform for handling such challenges. The user may import or build even highly complex structures using a user-friendly, interactive GUI. The photonic/plasmonic behaviour of the device can then be simulated by selecting the most appropriate algorithm (e.g. FIT/FDTD, FEM, BEM/MoM, MLFMM and more). Dispersive, anisotropic and nonlinear materials are supported. High-performance computing (HPC) options, such as MPI or GPU, are available, and the results can be displayed and analysed in the GUI using a comprehensive post-processing library and state-of-the-art visualization engine.

In addition, CST STUDIO SUITE® includes multiphysics solvers linked to EM, allowing users to, for example, simulate the effect of thermal tuning.

This webinar will demonstrate how CST STUDIO SUITE can be used to analyse a number of essential optical devices, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide components, photonic crystals (PC), plasmonic devices and optical gratings.

The atomic force microscope (AFM) has played an essential role in 2D materials research since it was used to confirm the first isolation of graphene. Today’s AFMs are even more powerful, with higher spatial resolution, faster imaging rates, greater environmental control and enhanced modes for mapping physical properties. They can image crystal lattice structure as well as nanoscale morphology, and sense local electrical, mechanical and functional response in more ways than ever before.

In this webinar we explore the latest AFM tools that enable higher resolution, sensitivity and more quantitative results for analysing 2D materials. We’ll present results from measurements of a variety of 2D materials for device manufacturing, energy storage and optoelectronics including:
• MoS2 and graphene;
• measurements of mechanical properties;
• kelvin probe imaging (KPFM) of operating transistors;
• electromechanical measurements.

We specifically detail AFM modes including:
• conductive AFM;
• KPFM;
• piezoresponse imaging;
• scanning microwave impedance imaging (sMIM).

Finally, we discuss how AFM can now be used to accurately determine the thickness of single or multiple layers of a 2D material. This will challenge the misconception that AFM cannot be used to precisely measure the thickness of 2D materials.

In the third of our webinars showcasing presentations from the PMB 60th Anniversary Symposium, Bas Raaymakers examines the use of image guidance during radiation therapy. He will describe the various options available for radiotherapy guidance, including in-room CT-on-rails, MV imaging, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, tracking of implanted beacons and cone-beam CT. In particular, he will discuss the use of MRI for real-time visualization of the tumour and its surroundings during treatment.

This webinar addresses practical computational issues in discrete calculations of the path of charged or multipole particles in electric and magnetic fields.

We begin by showing the theory and an Excel macro implementation of some standard ODE time-based solvers as applied to the charged-particle case. We also discuss potential benefits of a nonstandard distance-based solver configuration.

Next some examples are provided to illustrate trade-offs between the number of calculations and the accuracy of the result according to various criteria. For example, depending on one’s needs, the simulation set-up might produce output that is either a dense set of (x, y, z) points that plot as a smooth curve, or a much sparser set of points that are individually more accurate than the dense set.

The webinar will end by examining what can be done with the data obtained. Calculations based on a linear interpolation between points are straightforward, but may force one to use an inefficient ODE set-up. This can take excessive computation resources, hence a longer time than necessary to produce accurate results. Some alternatives will be demonstrated using various degrees of physical insight to get the most information possible from the given ODE output data.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Nobel prize in scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and the 30th anniversary since the first paper in atomic force microscopy (AFM), Nanotechnology™ has been organising a focus collection with guest editors Franz Giessibl, Rodolfo Miranda and Johannes Barthes to collate some of the latest cutting-edge progress developing and exploiting these scanning probe techniques.

In this webinar, we invite one of the guest editors of the collection, members of our editorial board and authors of contributions in the collection itself to join our panel to look at some of the highlights in STM and AFM over the past 30 years and some of the most exciting research developments in the field today.

This webinar aims to highlight the benefits of correlative Raman imaging for the analysis of chemical composition, crystallinity, stress and optoelectronic properties of materials such as semiconductors, 2D materials and electrodes. Used in combination with either atomic force microscopy or scanning electron microscopy, Raman correlative microscopy provides deep insight into the relation between molecular and structural features of materials – even in 3D.
The principles of state-of-the-art confocal Raman imaging will first be introduced, then its power as an ideal tool for investigating the chemical and molecular characteristics of a sample will be demonstrated with examples of 2D materials, semiconductors and battery electrodes. The webinar will describe clearly the advantages and ease- of- use offered by Raman imaging systems integrated with other microscopy technologies.

How automatic is your automation?

In part one of this webinar, Freddie Cardel outlines the concept of automatic plan generation with Plan Explorer and demonstrates a completely new level of automation. He explains the approach, where large numbers of high-quality treatment plans are automatically generated for defined clinical goals and combinations of treatment techniques and machines, and shows how these plans can be easily filtered and browsed to find the most suitable candidates to be evaluated.

In part two, Erik Korevaar and Roel Kierkels present the first findings of the clinical evaluation they performed at University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands, and describe how the center envisions the use of the tool in clinical practice.

Continuing our series of webinars showcasing presentations from the PMB 60th Anniversary Symposium, Brian Pogue discusses the evolution of diagnostic imaging over the last 60 years. He will present examples of successful medical imaging technologies, explain how the use of contrast agents can improve delineation and function assessment, and present some fundamentally new physical imaging systems.

If you're publishing scientific work, applying for grants, or just want to better convey your research to a wider audience you need to join us for this special webinar with authors Sam Illingworth and Grant Allen on their book Effective Science Communication: A practical guide to surviving as a scientist.

Sam and Grant will talk us through the research behind their book, why they feel there is a need for this, and provide advice on not only how to survive, but to prosper in the process.

There will be a live Q&A session at the end of the webinar.