The ACRF Image X Institute is opening its virtual doors this summer to present the Summer Lecture Series. Each week, one of our star researchers will take the audience through a different element of radiation therapy, followed by a Q&A session.

The Summer Lecture Series is suited to anyone looking to learn more or have a refresher on the science that underpins Radiation Therapy and cancer imaging. For those attending as part of their professional development, we can offer a certificate of attendance.

Entry is free, you can register to attend one, a few, or all lectures.

To find out more about the ACRF Image X Institute, visit our website.

Lecture 1: Introduction to Radiation Therapy with Prof Paul Keall:

13 January, 3pm

Radiation therapy (RT) describes a medical treatment where ionizing radiation is used to kill or damage cells. The radiation used could be protons, photons or electrons, and the cells being killed are typically cancerous (radiation oncology) but novel applications are emerging e.g. altering the conductivity of heart tissue to control heart arrythmias. Despite the widespread use and applicability of RT (recommended for 50% of all cancers and 75% of lung cancers), much of how and why RT is used remains a mystery to the general public. This lecture will communicate the fundamentals of RT, how it fits into the broader picture of oncology and medicine, as well as how the ACRF Image X institute contributes to the field.

Lecture 2: Anatomy of a Linac with Dr Brendan Whelan

20 January, 3pm

Linear accelerators are the workhorses of radiation oncology, used to deliver therapeutic photon and electron beams to treat cancer. In this lecture, we will delve into how a linear accelerator actually functions, with a particular focus on the beam forming components. You will learn: how we generate electrons, how we use resonant microwaves to accelerate them to nearly the speed of light, and how these are converted to photons.

Lecture 3: Radiotherapy Workflow with Jonathan Hindmarsh

27 January, 3pm

Radiation therapy is a team effort and the path of the patient through the department from diagnosis to end of treatment takes weeks to complete. The first half of this talk traces the patient journey through the radiation oncology department.

The second half gets more technical, you will learn how the radiation beam is shaped and what we do to try and ensure we deliver quality treatments to our patients.

Lecture 4: Motion Management in Radiotherapy with Dr Youssef Ben Bouchta

3 February, 3pm

A fundamental principal of radiation therapy is precise targeting, to ensure that the cancer is hit while sparing the surrounding organs. To achieve the treatment goal, a multi-disciplinary team of physicians, physicists and therapists are required. In this lecture, we will walk through the patient’s journey at a radiation oncology clinic from diagnosis to treatment. The principal behind commonly used terms in modern radiation therapy such as Image-guided radiotherapy, Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy will be explained. We will touch on the importance of motion management and central role of medical imaging throughout the treatment process.

Lecture 5: X-Ray Computed Tomography with Dr Owen Dilllon

10 February, 3pm

We are familiar with the use of x-rays to produce "shadow" images that reveal internal anatomy. While these 2D images are useful, it is often important to be able to visualise what is being imaged in 3D. Tomographic imaging allows us to see “slice-by-slice” a 3D object, allowing precise visualisation and localisation of structures within the object. These tomographic representations are stored in the computer as “voxels” (pixels with volume i.e. little boxes instead of little squares) with a brightness assigned to each. For x-ray imaging, these brightness values represent how much a voxel absorbs x-ray beams. This lecture will describe the physics and mathematics of x-ray computed tomography, where several 2D x-ray shadow images taken from different positions around an object can be combined to produce the tomographic representation.

Lecture 6: Introduction to MRI with Dr David Waddington

17 February, 3pm

MRI is the gold standard of non-invasive soft tissue imaging in modern medicine. However, the complex physics exploited by MRI has meant that this crucial imaging modality remains a black box to many, including medical researchers. This talk will give a brief overview of the quantum phenomena underlying MRI and how they enable its diverse application in areas including cancer diagnosis and neuroscience. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of cutting-edge and future applications of MRI in fields such as radiation therapy.

BONUS LECTURE ADDED!

Lecture 7: Radiobiology 101 with Dr Paul Liu

24 February, 3pm

Radiobiology is the study of how radiation interacts with the human body and the resulting health effects. It forms the mathematical basis upon which radiation therapy treatments are delivered in the treatment of cancer. This lecture will cover the basics of radiobiology starting with the mechanisms of radiation interactions at a cellular level, how these interactions are modelled mathematically and finally, how these models are used to optimise the radiation therapy treatments for the best patient outcomes.