Medical Physics: forming and testing solutions to clinical problems

According to the European Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (EFOMP) policy statement No. 13, “The rapid advance in the use of highly sophisticated equipment and procedures in the medical field increasingly depends on information and communication technology. In spite of the fact that the safety and quality of such technology is vigorously tested before it is placed on the market, it often turns out that the safety and quality is not sufficient when used under hospital working conditions. To improve safety and quality for patient and users, additional safeguards and related monitoring, as well as measures to enhance quality, are required. Furthermore a large number of accidents and incidents happen every year in hospitals and as a consequence a number of patients die or are injured. Medical Physicists are well positioned to contribute towards preventing these kinds of events”. The newest developments related to this increasingly important medical speciality were presented during the 8th European Conference of Medical Physics 2014 which was held in Athens, 11–13 September 2014 and hosted by the Hellenic Association of Medical Physicists (HAMP) in collaboration with the EFOMP and are summarized in this issue

Medical Physics: forming and testing solutions to clinical problems

According to the European Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (EFOMP) policy statement No. 13, “The rapid advance in the use of highly sophisticated equipment and procedures in the medical field increasingly depends on information and communication technology. In spite of the fact that the safety and quality of such technology is vigorously tested before it is placed on the market, it often turns out that the safety and quality is not sufficient when used under hospital working conditions. To improve safety and quality for patient and users, additional safeguards and related monitoring, as well as measures to enhance quality, are required. Furthermore a large number of accidents and incidents happen every year in hospitals and as a consequence a number of patients die or are injured. Medical Physicists are well positioned to contribute towards preventing these kinds of events”. The newest developments related to this increasingly important medical speciality were presented during the 8th European Conference of Medical Physics 2014 which was held in Athens, 11–13 September 2014 and hosted by the Hellenic Association of Medical Physicists (HAMP) in collaboration with the EFOMP and are summarized in this issue

Preliminary diagnostic reference levels for endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography in Greece

The main objective of this study was to determine the preliminary Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs) in terms of Kerma Area Product (KAP) and fluoroscopy time (Tf) during Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography (ERCP) procedures. Additionally, an investigation was conducted to explore the statistical relation between KAP and Tf. Data from a set of 200 randomly selected patients treated in 4 large hospitals in Greece (50 patients per hospital) were analyzed in order to obtain preliminary DRLs for KAP and Tf during therapeutic ERCP procedures. Non-parametric statistic tests were performed in order to determine a statistically significant relation between KAP and Tf. The resulting third quartiles for KAP and Tf for hospitals (A, B, C and D) were found as followed: KAPA = 10.7 Gy cm^2, TfA = 4.9 min; KAPB = 7.5 Gy cm^2, TfB = 5.0 min; KAPC = 19.0 Gy cm^2, TfC = 7.3 min; KAPD = 52.4 Gy cm^2, TfD = 15.8 min. The third quartiles, calculated for the total 200 cases sample, are: KAP = 18.8 Gy cm^2 and Tf = 8.2 min. For 3 out of 4 hospitals and for the total sample, p-values of statistical indices (correlation of KAP and Tf) are less than 0.001, while for the Hospital A p-values are ranging from 0.07 to 0.08. Using curve fitting, we finally determine that the relation of Tf and KAP is deriving from a power equation (KAP = Tf^1.282) with R^2 = 0.85. The suggested Preliminary DRLs (deriving from the third quartiles of the total sample) for Greece are: KAP = 19 Gy cm^2 and Tf = 8 min, while the relation between KAP and Tf is efficiently described by a power equatio

Voices for gender equity in medical physics

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146611/1/acm212487_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146611/2/acm212487.pd

Dose management in CT facility

Computed Tomography (CT) examinations have rapidly increased in number over the last few years due to recent advances such as the spiral, multidetector-row, CT fluoroscopy and Positron Emission Tomography (PET)-CT technology. This has resulted in a large increase in collective radiation dose as reported by many international organisations. It is also stated that frequently, image quality in CT exceeds the level required for confident diagnosis. This inevitably results in patient radiation doses that are higher than actually required, as also stressed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the CT exposure of paediatric and small adult patients. However, the wide range in exposure parameters reported, as well as the different CT applications reveal the difficulty in standardising CT procedures. The purpose of this paper is to review the basic CT principles, outline the recent technological advances and their impact in patient radiation dose and finally suggest methods of radiation dose optimisation

The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP) White Paper : Big data and deep learning in medical imaging and in relation to medical physics profession

Big data and deep learning will profoundly change various areas of professions and research in the future. This will also happen in medicine and medical imaging in particular. As medical physicists, we should pursue beyond the concept of technical quality to extend our methodology and competence towards measuring and optimising the diagnostic value in terms of how it is connected to care outcome. Functional implementation of such methodology requires data processing utilities starting from data collection and management and culminating in the data analysis methods. Data quality control and validation are prerequisites for the deep learning application in order to provide reliable further analysis, classification, interpretation, probabilistic and predictive modelling from the vast heterogeneous big data. Challenges in practical data analytics relate to both horizontal and longitudinal analysis aspects. Quantitative aspects of data validation, quality control, physically meaningful measures, parameter connections and system modelling for the future artificial intelligence (AI) methods are positioned firmly in the field of Medical Physics profession. It is our interest to ensure that our professional education, continuous training and competence will follow this significant global development.Peer reviewe

Practice of ALARA in the pediatric interventional suite

As interventional procedures have become progressively more sophisticated and lengthy, the potential for high patient radiation dose has increased. Staff exposure arises from patient scatter, so steps to minimize patient dose will in turn reduce operator and staff dose. The practice of ALARA in an interventional radiology (IR) suite, therefore, requires careful attention to technical detail in order to reduce patient dose. The choice of imaging modality should minimize radiation when and where possible. In this paper practical steps are outlined to reduce patient dose. Further details are included that specifically reduce operator exposure. Challenges unique to pediatric intervention are reviewed. Reference is made to experience from modern pediatric interventional suites. Given the potential for high exposures, the practice of ALARA is a team responsibility. Various measures are outlined for consideration when implementing a quality assurance (QA) program for an IR service

Occupational Radiation Protection in Interventional Radiology: A Joint Guideline of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe and the Society of Interventional Radiology

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