APS March Meeting 2016
Volume 61, Number 2
Monday–Friday, March 14–18, 2016;
Baltimore, Maryland
Session S12: Prospects and Challenges in Medical Physics and Imaging
11:15 AM–2:15 PM,
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Room: 308
Sponsoring
Units:
FIAP GIMS
Chair: Larry Nagahara, Johns Hopkins University
Abstract ID: BAPS.2016.MAR.S12.3
Abstract: S12.00003 : Future Directions in Medical Physics: Models, Technology, and Translation to Medicine*
12:27 PM–1:03 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Jeffrey Siewerdsen
(Johns Hopkins University)
The application of physics in medicine has been integral to major advances
in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. Two primary areas represent the
mainstay of medical physics research in the last century: in radiation
therapy, physicists have propelled advances in conformal radiation treatment
and high-precision image guidance; and in diagnostic imaging, physicists
have advanced an arsenal of multi-modality imaging that includes CT, MRI,
ultrasound, and PET as indispensible tools for noninvasive screening,
diagnosis, and assessment of treatment response. In addition to their role
in building such technologically rich fields of medicine, physicists have
also become integral to daily clinical practice in these areas. The future
suggests new opportunities for multi-disciplinary research bridging physics,
biology, engineering, and computer science, and collaboration in medical
physics carries a strong capacity for identification of significant clinical
needs, access to clinical data, and translation of technologies to clinical
studies. In radiation therapy, for example, the extraction of knowledge from
large datasets on treatment delivery, image-based phenotypes, genomic
profile, and treatment outcome will require innovation in computational
modeling and connection with medical physics for the curation of large
datasets. Similarly in imaging physics, the demand for new imaging
technology capable of measuring physical and biological processes over
orders of magnitude in scale (from molecules to whole organ systems) and
exploiting new contrast mechanisms for greater sensitivity to molecular
agents and subtle functional / morphological change will benefit from
multi-disciplinary collaboration in physics, biology, and engineering. Also
in surgery and interventional radiology, where needs for increased precision
and patient safety meet constraints in cost and workflow, development of new
technologies for imaging, image registration, and robotic assistance can
leverage collaboration in physics, biomedical engineering, and computer
science. In each area, there is major opportunity for multi-disciplinary
collaboration with medical physics to accelerate the translation of such
technologies to clinical use.
*Research supported by the National Institutes of Health, Siemens Healthcare, and Carestream Health
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2016.MAR.S12.3