The students of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies and Electronic Engineering, who are majoring in Biomedical Engineering, joined the training course for medical physicists held at the Lviv State Regional Oncology Treatment and Diagnostic Center.
Medical physics is a modern field of science and technology that solves medical problems related to the development of the physical basis of treatment, diagnosis and the creation of equipment, both physical in design and medical in application.
For three days, Anna Kabanova, Solomiia Mykhalius, Roman Pelykh, Yelyzaveta Rychalovska and Yana Shevnia practiced on the equipment of the Oncology Centre as part of the AAPM/HUG/UAMP course, which was made possible by the initiative of Help Ukraine Group – HUG, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and with the support of Varian Medical Systems.
The course lecturers, Serhii Brovchuk and Ruslan Zelinskyi, who are collaborating with Stanford University, shared their experience of the processes of radiation oncology physics and modern sophisticated technologies that allow us to correctly calculate the dose distribution of radiotherapy. The participants learned about an important part of commissioning a linear accelerator designed for high-quality radiotherapy, as well as the basics of dosimetric planning in the Eclipse system (Varian).
Following the training, each participant received a certificate. The knowledge gained has significantly enriched the students’ background in medical physics.
Yelyzaveta Rychalovska shared her impressions of the program:
«The AAPM/HUG/UAMP course was an extremely useful experience for both professionals and students. Lectures and practical classes, such as introduction to TPS, treatment planning and equipment quality control, were explained in an accessible way, which contributed to easy learning. I was particularly impressed with the attention to practical aspects such as equipment calibration and QA checks. Special thanks for the efficient organization of the classes and the friendly atmosphere. The course left a positive impression and significantly expanded my knowledge in the field of medical physics».
Roman Pelykh and Solomiia Mykhalius are also satisfied with their experience:
«During the course, we had the opportunity to dive deeper into the intricacies of the medical physics profession. In particular, we learnt about the process of commissioning a linear accelerator and working in a dosimetric planning system. Despite our starting level of knowledge, the lecturers and hospital staff were incredibly attentive and professional. They made every effort to explain even the most complex aspects in an accessible way, adapting the material to our needs as students. At the last day of the course there was a test, after which we received certificates of completion. Thanks to the cooperation between Lviv Polytechnic and Lviv Oncology Centre, we discovered new facets of medical physics and gained valuable practical experience. We believe that the knowledge gained will become an important contribution into our professional development».
We express our gratitude to Oleh Duda, Director General of the Lviv State Regional Oncology Treatment and Diagnostic Center, for inviting us to participate in the training, as the importance of the knowledge gained is hard to overestimate.
