VYDMANTAS ATKOČIUS
INSTITUTE OF ONCOLOGY, VILNIUS UNIVERSITY, LITHUANIA
2010, Budapest, 16 June
Page 1
MEDICAL PHYSICS –
ESSENTIAL SPECIALITY IN
CANCER TREATMENT
IT’S MY LIFE
WHY THIS
TITLE?
THERE ARE IMPRESIVE
RESULTS
IMPACT OF THE
INTERNATIONAL
COLLABORATION
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HISTORY
• 2 BETATRONS
• 4 60Co EBRT UNITS
1972
• Some X-ray treatment units
•
226Ra
sources for brachytherapy
• 0 Medical physicists
• Some roentgen technicians
3 Russian condenser
R-meters
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HISTORY
• 2 mos training course for medical physics
(certificate)
1979
• VICTOREEN 570 CONDENSER R-METER –
three chambers for low, medicine and high
energies
• Dose output measurement at two RT centers
and time tables for irradiation – onsite visits,
4 per yr.
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HISTORY
POLISH
PHYSICISTS
1995 – 1997
1997 – 2000
PERSONAL
CONTACTS
EMANUEL VAN DER
SCHUEREN
EURAQA
pan-EUropean RAdiation Quality
Assurance
EROPAQ
pan-European Radiation Oncology
Programme for Assurance of
Treatment Quality
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EURAQA data:
The Middle Ages–1995 2 from 5 (40 %) radiotherapy
centers without medical
physicists (Quite alone in Central
and Eastern Europe)
1996–2000 All RT centers have at least one
medical physicist (after 1-2 mos
training at Institute of Oncology, VU)
2010 Workload of medical physicist
(about 400 pts/yr in Lithuania)
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IAEA
• RER/6/008: Building Capacity in Medical
Physics (1997 – 2001)
• RER/6/012: Quality Assurance / Quality
Control in Radiation Oncology (2001 – 2008)
• RER/6/013 and other related programmes
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LITHUANIA - TLD AUDIT
Year
IAEA/WHO TLD audit 1995-2000
Beams with deviation
Beams with deviation
Beams
checked
more  3% (in %)
more  5% (in %)
1995
4 (LOC)
0
0
1996
11
40.0
33.3
1998
11
54.4
27.0
1999
11
18.0
0
2000
13
0
0
World Congress, Melbourne, Australia, 2001
Oral presentation
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MEDICAL PHYSICS TODAY IN
LITHUANIA
• Medical Physics (speciality) was included
in the list of specialities in medicine
• Medical Physicists working in RT – 26
• Medical Physics Committee in Lithuania
Society for Radiation Oncology, (1995) – 24
members
• Society of Medical Physicists (Kaunas),
(2008) – 18 members
• Lithuanian Association of
Medical Physicists and
Biomedical Engineers (2009) –
newly established
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MEDICAL PHYSICS PREPARATION CHART
(2008)
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MEDICAL PHYSICS - EDUCATION
• KAUNAS TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY:
– Basic education – 3-4 years
– Level of Master in Medical Physics – 2 years
– Postgraduate training (in clinic) – 2 years
• MEDICAL FACULTY + INSTITUTE OF ONKOLOGY,
VILNIUS UNIVERSITY:
– Level of Master in Medical Physics – 2 years
Basic education in physics, biomedicine or
technology (physics not less 27 ECTS and
mathematics or IT not less 15 ECTS) – 4 years in
different faculties
– Postgraduate training (in clinic of Institute of
Oncology ,VU) – 2 years (under supervision of
Qualified Medical Physicist or Medical Physics
Expert)
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MF PROGRAMMES IN COMPARISON I
SWEDEN,
Lund University
Göteborg University
Karolinska University, Sockholm
UK,
King‘s College
London
College of London
LITHUANIA
KTU
VU
Radiation protection, 5P
Radiation protection
4 Kr.
4 Kr.
Radiation biology, 5P
Radiobiology
2 Kr.
3 Kr.
Human anatomy, 5P
Anatomy and
physiology
4 Kr.
4 Kr.
Biostatistics for physicists, 5P
Biomedical statistics
2 Kr.
3 Kr.
Interaction of ionizing radiation with
matter, 5P
Interaction of
nonionizing and ionizing
radiation with matter
4 Kr.
3 Kr.
Imaging systems and imaging, 5P
(Photon imaging)
Imaging systems
4 Kr.
7 Kr.
Mathematical methods and image
processing, including applied
system analysis, 5P
Basic signal processing
in medical imaging
4 Kr.
5 Kr.
MF PROGRAMMES IN COMPARISON II
SWEDEN,
Lund University
Göteborg University
Karolinska University, Sockholm
UK,
King‘s College
London
College of London
Radiation detectors and
measurements, 5P
Radiation detectors and
dosimetry
4 Kr.
Diagnostic radiology, 5P
Diagnostic radiology
4 Kr.
Physics of radiotherapy, 5P
Physics of radiotherapy
4 Kr.
Radiation dosimetry, 5P
LITHUANIA
KTU
2 Kr.
VU
3 Kr.
5 Kr
Imaging systems and imaging, 5P
NMR imaging
Ultrasound imaging
4 Kr.
4 Kr.
Nuclear medicine, 5P
Nuclear medicine
2 Kr.
4 Kr.
20 Kr.
17 Kr.
MSC. Degree project, 20P
NEED FOR MF PROFESSION IN
LITHUANIA
Overall (diagnostics and cancer treatment)
100 - 150
Graduated in KTU
23
Perform MF duties in oncology centers
26
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Active players:
• Professional societies
• Oncology centers
• RSC (Radiation Protection
Center)
• Radiotherapists and clinics
administrators
Passive players:
• Government
• Ministry of Health
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CONCLUSIONS
1. MF speciality in Lithuania is on
the way:
– Two universities are involved in
education process
– Three is a need of the government
approval for medical physics career,
training and licensing, schema
2. International assistance (EU
directives, OECI, IAEA) for
activation this process is gainful
and extremely required
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Thank you
for attention
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