17th EURADOS School: "The importance of dosimetry in innovative medical applications"

Overview

Since their initial discovery in 1895, X-rays provided a sound contribution in developing medical practices. Their first application dates back to 1896 when battlefield physicians began using them, only six months after their revelation, and their use increased rapidly. The amazing physics discoveries of the beginning of the 20^th century, besides opening a new world of radiation, atoms and particles, brought to medical practice other powerful tools for medical imaging and the treatment of various diseases, including tumours. The rapid spread of these applications has been accompanied by continuous technological development that led to CT, LINAC and radiopharmaceuticals implementation. And on the side of radiation detection and dosimetry, the original etched film and fluoroscopic tubes have given way to solid state and digital imaging equipment. 

Today new technologies and modalities are entering the clinics, such as Flash Therapy or spatially fractionated radiotherapy and new radiopharmaceuticals in theranostics, posing new challenges to radiation dosimetry matter. They require new knowledge and a better understanding of the underlying physical phenomena. The dosimetric issues related to these emerging techniques and new modalities (innovative procedures associated with a “traditional” practice, e.g. small fields in RT or sub-mSv CT) require new and updated skills. 

With the intention to offer an overview of some of the latest developments in this field, EURADOS AM2024 Spring School is aimed at giving the status of the art, focusing on the dosimetric aspects these new medical practices imply. 

The topics of the school will try to cover the different elements and levels of the problem, from radiobiology and risk assessment questions, charged particle tracking in a microdosimetry framework, the matter of detecting fast pulsed radiation, the development of suitable dosimetry for multi-modal applications and the role of new numerical techniques in evaluating an accurate dose distribution in the patient.