Accounting for uncertainties in RT: adaptive therapy and robust optimization

This webinar will share the results of a stereotactic end-to-end accuracy evaluation of the Elekta Versa HD HDRS linac across a six-site consortium. An RTsafe PseudoPatient 3D gel phantom was used to demonstrate SRS treatment accuracy and delivery confidence with a single isocenter VMAT technique to treat multiple brain metastasis. This technology allows the direct comparison of planned versus delivered dose to evaluate system end-to-end accuracy and compare results between participating institutions.

FDA-cleared in 2017, the ZAP-X gyroscopic radiosurgery platform is the latest innovation from John Adler, inventor of the CyberKnife and professor of neurosurgery and radiation oncology at Stanford University.

Integrating a modern linear accelerator with gyroscopic mobility to deliver diverse non-coplanar beams, ZAP-X is a dedicated intracranial SRS system focused on ease-of-use, uncompromised patient safety and a world-class dose gradient.

ZAP-X is built upon a first-in-kind self-shielded design that typically eliminates the need for radiation vaults. This new capability enables simple and cost-effective departmental expansions while also making SRS delivery available in locations that were previously not feasible (for example, physicians offices, outpatient centers and satellite facilities).

Combined, ZAP-X strives to remove historical costs and complexity constraints to put SRS within reach of more providers and more patients.

Multifunctional materials are any material or material-based system that has been designed to perform multiple tasks through judicious combinations of structural and non-structural functions. In this webinar – co-chaired by the editors of Multifunctional Materials, Andreas Lendlein and Richard Trask – we examine the challenges and opportunities faced within this field of research. The webinar will feature three 10 minute presentations, followed by a 25 minute Q&A session.

Elekta Unity, the only high-field MR-linac, is introducing diagnostic-quality MR images to radiation therapy. Never before have clinicians had the ability to see crystal-clear, high-field MR images while the radiation dose is being delivered. The live images help to keep the radiation directly on target, even if the tumour is moving and changing shape, size or location, during the treatment. This solves a long-standing, unmet need by allowing clinicians to clearly see the tumour during treatment rather than relying on images acquired before the treatment.

Diagnostic-quality soft-tissue imaging provides more information on anatomy and pathology, and will enable more effective clinical decision-making. Precise visual differentiation of tumour from nearby healthy tissue allows clinicians to confidently see and track the exact location of a tumour in real time.

During this webinar, clinical experts will share their experience with Elekta Unity and how it is redefining the way cancer is treated.

In this webinar the physics and clinical implementation of Monte Carlo dose check and plan QA will be discussed.

Dr Marcus Alber, a leading Monte Carlo expert, will present the importance and value of QA accuracy based on Monte Carlo, as well as the specific benefits of the SciMoCa application.

Dr Christoph Fuehrweger, a medical physicist at the Munich CyberKnife Center, will present the clinical implementation and benefits of the Monte Carlo stereotactic plan QA.

In this webinar the commissioning process of a Varian TrueBeam system will be discussed. Clinical experience of using the SMARTSCAN automated and guided beam commissioning system will also be shared.

In radiation therapy, quality assurance is not only necessary and mandatory in many countries, but crucial for the treatment of patients. As treatment plans become more complex, a higher degree of accuracy in dose delivery is essential. The Monte Carlo QA technology in clinical settings provides an independent and fast calculation.

This webinar deals with the rationale for using a Monte Carlo-based QA software in the radiation therapy clinic. In this presentation we will discuss the types of treatment plans that a Monte Carlo-based QA system would be best utilized for.

How multi-modality (combined) interventional radiotherapy treatments can improve clinical outcomes and how to implement these.

Elekta is dedicated to stretching the boundaries of science and technology as we develop best-in-class solutions for better patient care. Multi-modality radiation treatments combine different treatment methods to, for example, boost precision. Our speaker will explain what boost therapy can do for your facility and how to implement it.
Join this webinar together with your peers to learn about the latest in boost radiation therapy and technology.

IBA training session

Two-dimensional semiconductors, specifically the broad class of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have attracted significant attention in the research community in recent years due to the wealth of interesting and potentially applicable phenomena observed in these materials. In order to control the performance of devices based on TMDs, it is important to characterize their properties at the scale relevant to the corresponding application, which in most cases today corresponds to a few tens of nanometres.

Conventional far-field photoluminescence (PL) and Raman imaging provide highly averaged information with spectral congestion. In contrast, the TEPL and TERS methods (tip-enhanced photoluminescence and tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy) performed with an AFM–Raman system, not limited by diffraction, provide substantial information related to the nanoscale optical properties of 2D materials with resolution down to a few nanometres.

In this webinar, we report on the application of scanning-probe microscopy (SPM) cross-correlated with TERS and TEPL measurements. The techniques are used to image various TMD (MoS2, WS2, MoSe2, WSe2) alloys and heterostructures, revealing detailed nanoscale features and unexpected heterogeneities. These variations in the nanoscale optical and chemical properties, correlated with the structural information obtained with SPM, can provide a better understanding of 2D TMD materials for the future development of highly efficient, flexible, lightweight optoelectronic devices.

The increasing number of diagnoses of brain metastases in asymptomatic patients – as a result of screening MRIs – has created the need for both durable control and prevention of cognitive decline in patients who are expected to have increasing median survivals. Since the mainstay of their therapy is systemic management, “Radiosurgery Now” represents the idea of immediate radiosurgery with the intent of avoiding interruption of systemic management.

This webinar will discuss the impact of delay in radiosurgery on tumour growth and the benefits of repeat radiosurgery for the long-term preservation of cognitive function. The linear and robust rapid workflow of the Leksell Gamma Knife® Icon™ is ideally suited to this concept.

The quality of a radiation treatment plan strongly depends on the ability to deal with uncertainties originating from setup and density interpretation errors, as well as from changes in patient anatomy. The creation of robust treatment plans and the evaluation of robustness prior to delivery is therefore one of the main challenges in radiation therapy. During the first part of this webinar, Erik Engwall, chief physicist at RaySearch, presents some versatile tools to address this challenge:
- Robust optimization with the inclusion of 4DCT images, and setup and density uncertainties;
- Robustness evaluation over multiple error scenarios.

In the second part, Erik Korevaar, a medical physicist at UMCG, will present how robust optimization is used in a clinical setting and discuss appropriate metrics for robustness evaluation based on previous clinical experience.

This webinar will review the clinical reasons to incorporate HDR prostate brachytherapy into your current practice, the resources needed and how to create efficiency in your workflow.

Thank you for your interest in becoming a student contributor for Physics World. This webinar will provide you with an overview of Physics World and IOP Publishing, plus we will also explain how you will be able to contribute your own content to the site.

During the webinar, Dr Arjun Sahgal will share his perspective on the latest trends for treating brain metastases. Dr Sahgal will examine the most recent published clinical data comparing the benefits of SRS with previous treatment techniques, and the use of the most recent technologies available. The session will explore traditional treatments with WBRT and compare some of the latest SRS techniques used to treat specific targets and their clinical outcomes. Discussion is focused on precision radiation medicine, improving outcomes and quality of life for patients.

Join Dr Trevor Lane as he hosts a webinar covering an introduction to writing research articles. In this webinar, you will learn how to write original research articles clearly and concisely and use an appropriate writing style for journals. You will also gain valuable insight into making strategic publication decisions that will help increase your chances of publication success.

During this webinar you will hear how to:

1. Make strategic decisions on how and where to publish your work
2. Identify the features of effective research articles
3. Devise some strategies to improve your research writing

A new class of radiation devices is emerging, and it has the potential to transform how cancer is treated through more precise tumor targeting and adapting treatment at the time of delivery. High-field MR-linac technology integrates the power of state-of-the-art MR imaging with precision radiation technology. It can deliver precisely-targeted radiation doses while simultaneously capturing the highest-quality MR images. This will allow clinicians to visualize tumors and the surrounding healthy tissue at any time during radiation delivery, and then adapt the treatment accordingly.

High-field MR-linac devices based on diagnostic-standard MRI technology will offer many avenues for exploring improvements in radiotherapy, such as shorter treatment regimens or targeted adaption of the treatment in real time. Also, by integrating precision radiation and MRI technologies, high-field MRI capabilities can be optimally explored to help bring personalized cancer care to radiation therapy.

During this webinar, clinical experts will share their experience with Elekta Unity.

The webinar, aimed at early career researchers, will cover a range of topics including how to choose the right journal, peer-review and publication ethics, and your open access publishing options thanks to funding agreements in Austria.

As the imaging and analytical capabilities of the modern transmission electron microscope (TEM) have improved, it has become an increasingly vital tool to characterize and study nanoscale materials. With the advent of MEMS-based sample supports, researchers are now capable of easily heating and electrically characterizing their sample in situ, directly imaging the dynamic sample reactions occurring at the atomic scale.

For semiconductor and electrical device applications, Protochips has developed focused ion beam (FIB) tools and sample preparation workflows that enable researchers to prepare FIB lamellae directly on MEMS-based sample supports, allowing pA-level electrical characterization of their sample at atomic resolution. With the growing interest surrounding graphene and other 2D materials, in situ TEM has become increasingly utilized to accelerate the discovery of these next-generation materials. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers Xiahan Sang and Ray Unocic used in situ heating to synthesize and characterize complex structural and chemical transformations of edge defects at atomic resolution. Their work pioneered new means by which 2D materials could be engineered directly in the TEM, opening new avenues for materials development and characterization. These and other novel results in the field of material science will be presented in this webinar.