Academic Courses > DOS 523
DOS 523 - Treatment Planning for Medical Dosimetrists
Course Description
This class offered our first real taste of practical treatment planning skills and the concepts behind them. In the previous dose calculation class, we learned about how dose travels through tissue and what factors can affect its distribution, and in this class we extended that concept to talk about different ways that dose can be applied to achieve clinical goals. Class topics covered data acquisition, choice of beam modification devices, the differing capabilities of photon and electron planning, and basic concepts behind photon planning techniques including 3D conformal, IMRT, VMAT, SRS, and SBRT. We learned about when each technique is appropriate, and the pros and cons of choosing one over another when more than one technique may work.
Assessment
This was an extremely writing-heavy class. In additional to six weekly guided discussion posts, we had two special discussion topics and a treatment planning project to write up. I appreciated the choice of topics by the professor, because they spanned a wide range of subjects. Several of the topics were new areas for me, so I had to spend considerable time researching the material. The Normal Tissue Complication Probability posting was an interesting experiment; instead of dividing the class into thirds, with each third getting the same writing prompt, every student was assigned a planning term relating to conformal planning, and it was our job to teach that term to the rest of the class.
The treatment planning paper was an intense but valuable process for me. Almost all of my previous experience has been in contouring, registration, and reporting, so I had just started to get my hands dirty with actual treatment planning at the time of the case. It was a valuable guide to walk all of us through the "what if" scenarios surrounding the idea of inhomogeneity correction algorithms. By closely examining actual plans on actual patient datasets, I was able see for myself what effect the correction algorithm has on dose distribution. Without this project, I would certainly have known that it was important to consider inhomogeneity correction, but I'm not sure that I would have actually done a side by side comparison with and without the algorithm turned on, so being forced to do so was valuable.
The treatment planning paper was an intense but valuable process for me. Almost all of my previous experience has been in contouring, registration, and reporting, so I had just started to get my hands dirty with actual treatment planning at the time of the case. It was a valuable guide to walk all of us through the "what if" scenarios surrounding the idea of inhomogeneity correction algorithms. By closely examining actual plans on actual patient datasets, I was able see for myself what effect the correction algorithm has on dose distribution. Without this project, I would certainly have known that it was important to consider inhomogeneity correction, but I'm not sure that I would have actually done a side by side comparison with and without the algorithm turned on, so being forced to do so was valuable.
Discussions and Other Writing
Week 1: Devices and Practices for Simulation and Verification
Week 2: Inhomogeneity Correction Models and Dose Distribution
Week 3: External and Internal Shielding for Electron Therapy
Week 4: Dose Volume Histogram Visualization
Week 5: Evaluating IMRT vs VMAT vs Tomotherapy
Week 6: Precision Therapy Acronym Soup: SRS, SRT, SBRT, SAbR
Special Topic 1: Normal Tissue Complication Probability (NTCP)
Special Topic 2: Planning Algorithms
Treatment Planning Project: Inhomogeneity Corrections in Lung Planning [check back soon!]
Week 2: Inhomogeneity Correction Models and Dose Distribution
Week 3: External and Internal Shielding for Electron Therapy
Week 4: Dose Volume Histogram Visualization
Week 5: Evaluating IMRT vs VMAT vs Tomotherapy
Week 6: Precision Therapy Acronym Soup: SRS, SRT, SBRT, SAbR
Special Topic 1: Normal Tissue Complication Probability (NTCP)
Special Topic 2: Planning Algorithms
Treatment Planning Project: Inhomogeneity Corrections in Lung Planning [check back soon!]
Reflections
At the conclusion of each course, students are asked to reflect on what they have learned about the material and about themselves. The reflection is guided by five questions:
The new knowledge and skills I gained during this course were...
I learned a tremendous amount about how tissue inhomogeneity can affect radiation beams, and the resulting distribution of dose in a subject. I learned about how treatment planning systems use a variety of algorithms to model and account for inhomogeneities, and I learned about how to evaluate dose distributions using tools like dose volume histograms. The difference between different types of plans such as 3D conformal, IMRT, VMAT, SRS, electron, proton, and intraoperative radiotherapy were all covered, showing how broad a set of tools we have in radiation therapy.
The new knowledge and skills will benefit me by...
This course laid a solid foundation on which I will build all of my future practical planning experience and learning. Besides simply knowing the vocabulary for all of the different techniques, I have a sense of what each technique can and can't accomplish and why. The research skills I learned while writing some of the discussion posts will also help me to find in depth information on any topic that I need to explore more deeply.
I struggle with...
Electron planning is still largely an academic concept to me, since I have not yet been able to do any electron planning at this point in my internship. Once I have had a chance to create some electron plans, these concepts will begin to gel into a more concrete knowledge base, as I combine my book learning with practical experience.
I feel pretty good about...
This was a lot of material to cover in what felt like a short time, even though this class was longer than some. It tied together concepts from several previous classes, particularly the physics class and the dose calculations class. The way that it interlinked all of the concepts made it actually feel like a natural extension of the dose calculation class, rather than a separate class. I feel good about how this class has helped to reinforce concepts that I've learned previously, and it has tied them to practical situations.
Other reflective thoughts...
This class was the first real exploration of how radiation dose behaves in real world situations. The projects in this class, in concert with the projects from the clinical practicum class, have helped me hit the ground running as I have started to create actual clinical plans.
The new knowledge and skills I gained during this course were...
I learned a tremendous amount about how tissue inhomogeneity can affect radiation beams, and the resulting distribution of dose in a subject. I learned about how treatment planning systems use a variety of algorithms to model and account for inhomogeneities, and I learned about how to evaluate dose distributions using tools like dose volume histograms. The difference between different types of plans such as 3D conformal, IMRT, VMAT, SRS, electron, proton, and intraoperative radiotherapy were all covered, showing how broad a set of tools we have in radiation therapy.
The new knowledge and skills will benefit me by...
This course laid a solid foundation on which I will build all of my future practical planning experience and learning. Besides simply knowing the vocabulary for all of the different techniques, I have a sense of what each technique can and can't accomplish and why. The research skills I learned while writing some of the discussion posts will also help me to find in depth information on any topic that I need to explore more deeply.
I struggle with...
Electron planning is still largely an academic concept to me, since I have not yet been able to do any electron planning at this point in my internship. Once I have had a chance to create some electron plans, these concepts will begin to gel into a more concrete knowledge base, as I combine my book learning with practical experience.
I feel pretty good about...
This was a lot of material to cover in what felt like a short time, even though this class was longer than some. It tied together concepts from several previous classes, particularly the physics class and the dose calculations class. The way that it interlinked all of the concepts made it actually feel like a natural extension of the dose calculation class, rather than a separate class. I feel good about how this class has helped to reinforce concepts that I've learned previously, and it has tied them to practical situations.
Other reflective thoughts...
This class was the first real exploration of how radiation dose behaves in real world situations. The projects in this class, in concert with the projects from the clinical practicum class, have helped me hit the ground running as I have started to create actual clinical plans.
Academic Courses > DOS 523
|
Published April 5, 2015
Second Semester, 3 Months into Internship |