Canadian Organization Of Medical Physicists Research Articles

Seventieth Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists, Delta Hotels, Regina, Saskatchewan, June 5–8, 2024

Seventieth Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists, Delta Hotels, Regina, Saskatchewan, June 5–8, 2024

Preface

IC3DDose 2022 - 12th International Conference on 3D and Advanced Dosimetry The 12th IC3DDose conference on advanced radiation dosimetry was held in person in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada from June 20 to 23, 2022. The meeting was scheduled back-to-back with the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists’ (COMP) annual scientific meeting, offering unique opportunities for scientific knowledge sharing and extensive networking. It was a refreshing restart for the IC3DDose community after the cancelled meeting in 2020 and a reduced scope virtual meeting in 2021.A total of 71 participants from 11 countries met for 3.5 days in a mix of refresher/review sessions and proffered presentations covering state-of-the-art dosimetry encompassing all major dosimetry techniques used for standard external beam and brachytherapy. Presenters also covered advanced applications addressing the challenges of radiation measurement in small field, MR-Linac, microbeam and FLASH dosimetry. A total of 14 invited presentations and 25 contributed talks were given the at meeting including papers in a Rising Star Competition and in a single hybrid session with virtual participants from Australia, China and Japan. The associated papers presented in these proceedings add to an already extensive collection of 118 review and 574 proffered papers in 9 previous volumes of the Journal of Physics Conference Series from the past conferences.A feature for this year’s meeting was that all contributed speakers on a given day were asked to mount their presentation slides on poster boards for a dedicated closing discussion session entitled “Meet the speakers of the day”. This allowed attendees to engaged in deeper discussions, beyond the question periods at the end of their talks. The daily sessions reinforced the IC3DDose philosophy to foster strong mingling of all participants, from trainees to more experienced attendees. A keynote address and the final morning of sessions were open to COMP registrants also. This made the topics of the IC3DDose meeting available to a much wider audience.The meeting was a great success and the attendees developed new expertise and new networks through the many interactions over the meeting’s four days. Colleagues from Aarhus Denmark announced at the end of the meeting that they will now undertake to organize a 13th meeting in 2024.The local organizing committee sincerely thanks the sponsors for our meeting: Elekta and Varian as bronze sponsor and MedScint in the start-up category. We further acknowledge support from COMP, l’ Association Québécoise des Physicien(ne)s Médicaux Cliniques, l’ Université Laval and CRCHU de Quebec-Université Laval.Louis Archambault, Luc Beaulieu and L. John Schreiner(for the organizing and scientific committee)List of International Scientific Committee, Local Organizing Committee, Detailed Program of the 12th International Conference on 3D and Advanced Dosimetry (IC3Ddose) June 2022, Château Frontenac, Quebec City, Contents, About, A Warm Thank You to our Sponsors, at a Glance, Day 1 – June, Day 2 – Day 3 – June 22nd, Day 4 –, a Warm Thank You to our Sponsors are available in this pdf.

Health Care Professional Association Agency in Preparing for Artificial Intelligence: A Multiple-Case Study of Radiation Medicine and Medical Imaging in the Canadian Context

As artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated in healthcare, it is incumbent on healthcare professional associations (HPAs) to assist their memberships in preparing for related change. HPAs hold a unique role in establishing the socio-cultural, normative, and regulative elements of healthcare professions. An exploratory multiple-case study approach was employed to consider how, when faced with AI as a disruptive technology, HPAs engage in sense-making and legitimation of the change in order to support their membership in preparing for future practice. The Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists, Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology, Canadian Association of Radiologists, and Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists were selected as cases. Data collection involved key-informant interviews and document review, anticipated impact of AI on care and practice, reflections on perceptions of the professional membership and the role and actions of the HPA in influencing such perceptions and work. Concept coding allowed for inductive framing of individual case narratives and subsequent cross-case analysis. Eighteen interviews were conducted and documents spanning 2013 to 2020 were reviewed. Eleven coding categories and 25 subconcepts were identified, spanning perceived impact of AI, perspectives on prevalent mindsets, roles of HPAs in preparing their membership, including changing education needs. The HPAs studied engaged in work to support AI consideration in varying ways, with perceived roles in education, advocacy, and leadership. Emergent trends across the four HPAs suggested three factors that might influence engagement; factors related to the organization, those related to the profession, and those related to the innovation in question. All HPAs acknowledged AI's impact on practice in medical imaging and radiation medicine, while some saw it as more of a disruptive force and assigned it greater priority in the organizations. Conceptualizations of the potential threat to the profession and the HPA's role in supporting members in navigating that future landscape were also key insights. This research suggests how healthcare professions are engaging at the macro level in the implementation and normalization work related to AI, and sheds light on nuanced perspectives on AI of groups that would interface with it.

Operational Ontology for Radiation Oncology (OORO): A Professional Society-Based, Multi-Stakeholder Consensus Driven Informatics Standard Supporting Clinical and Research Use of Real-World Data

There is a critical need for large-scale, multi-institutional "real-world" data to evaluate patient, diagnosis and treatment factors affecting oncology patient outcomes. However, lack of data standardization undermines the potential for automated learning from the vast amount of information routinely archived in electronic health records (EHRs), Radiation Oncology Information Systems and other cancer care databases. As next step to promote data standardization beyond the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)'s TG-263 guidance for radiotherapy (RT) nomenclature, the AAPM's Big Data Subcommittee (BDSC) has led an international RT professional society collaboration to develop the Operational Ontology for Radiation Oncology (OORO). Initiated July 2019 to explore issues that typically compromise formation of large inter- and intra- institutional databases from EHRs, the AAPM's BDSC membership includes representatives from the AAPM, American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO), European Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) and clinical trials experts from NRG Oncology. Multiple external stakeholders were engaged, including government agencies, vendors and RT community members through the iterative and consensus-driven approach to OORO development. The OORO includes 42 key elements, 359 attributes, 144 value sets, and 155 relationships, ranked for priority of implementation based on clinical significance, likelihood of availability in EHRs, or ability to modify routine clinical processes to permit aggregation. The initial version of OORO includes many disease-site independent concepts common for all cancer patients and a smaller set specific for prostate cancer. The OORO development methodology is currently being applied/adapted to include additional disease site-specific concepts beginning with head and neck cancers. The first of its kind in radiation oncology, the OORO is a professional society-based, multi-stakeholder, consensus driven informatics standard. The iterative and collaborative approach to ontology development and refinement aims to ensure that OORO serves as a « living » guidance document, facilitating incremental expansion of data elements over time, as disease site-specific standards are set and RT concepts evolve. Supporting construction of comprehensive "real-world" datasets and application of advanced analytic techniques, including artificial intelligence (AI), OORO holds the potential to revolutionize patient management and improve outcomes.

Perceptions of Canadian Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists, and Radiation Trainees about the Feasibility and Need of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) in Canada: A National Survey.

Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is an emerging radiotherapy. There are ongoing efforts to develop a Canadian accelerator-based BNCT center. However, it remains unclear how Canadian radiation oncologists (RO), medical physicists (MP), and their trainees perceive BNCT and its impact on radiation oncology as a discipline. A survey was created to explore the knowledge of BNCT, its clinical role, and the support for Canadian research. It was distributed through the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO) and the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP). We received 118 valid responses from all 10 provinces, from 70 RO (59.3%) and 48 MP (40.7%), including 9 residents. Most knew of BNCT and its indications (60.2%). Although many were unaware of the reasons behind early failures (44.1%), common reasons were a lack of clinical trials and an inaccessibility of neutron sources (42.4%) as well as reactor unsuitability (34.7%). Additionally, 90.6% showed definite (66.9%) or possible (23.7%) support for Canadian BNCT research, while 89% indicated a definite (56.8%) or possible (32.2%) willingness for BNCT referrals. Most ROs and MPs supported Canadian BNCT research and would refer patients. However, limited awareness and a lack of experiences remain a challenge. Educational sessions are needed to realize this innovative cancer treatment in Canada.

A First Look at Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion of Canadian Medical Physicists: Results From the 2021 COMP EDI Climate Survey

In 2021, the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP) conducted its first equity, diversity, and inclusion Climate Survey. The membership's experiences of inclusion, belonging, professional opportunities, discrimination, microaggressions, racism, and harassment in their professional lives are presented. The ethics-reviewed survey was distributed in English and French to full members of COMP. Participants responded to questions covering demographics and professional climate. Simple descriptive statistics were used to measure frequency of responses. Data pertaining to impressions on the climate within the profession were compared using nonparametric statistical tests. The survey was distributed to 649 eligible members; 243 (37%) responded, and 214 (33%) provided full response sets. From the full response sets, findings showed that in general, age, highest academic degree, and racial and ethnic distribution trends of medical physicists were comparable with previously collected data and/or the Canadian population. The experiences of respondents relating to harassment in the workplace and perception of climate are reported and provide a useful benchmark for future assessments of interventions or training programs. In the workplace, fewer women (58%) reported having professional opportunities compared with men (70%). The survey also found that 17% of respondents (most of whom were women) directly or indirectly experienced sexual harassment in the workplace within the past 5 years. Finding that 23% of survey respondents identified as having a disability is a valuable reminder that accommodations in the workplace are necessary for more than 1 in every 5 medical physicists working in clinics. This study provided insight into the diversity and experiences of medical physicists in Canada. The majority of respondents had positive perceptions about their professional environment. However, equity-lacking groups were identified, such as women, underrepresented minorities, Indigenous peoples, and people with visible and invisible disabilities.

Management of Patients with Cardiovascular Implantable Electronic Devices Undergoing Radiation Therapy: A National Survey of Canadian Multidisciplinary Radiation Oncology Professionals

This study aimed to characterize contemporary management of Canadian patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) undergoing radiation therapy (RT) in light of updated American Association of Physicists in Medicine guidelines. A 22-question web-based survey was distributed to members of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology, Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists, and Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists from January to February 2020. Respondent demographics, knowledge, and management practices were elicited. Statistical comparisons by respondent demographics were performed using χ2 and Fisher exact tests. In total, 155 surveys were completed by 54 radiation oncologists, 26 medical physicists, and 75 radiation therapists in academic (51%) and community (49%) practices across all provinces. The majority of respondents (77%) had managed >10 patients with CIEDs in their career. Most respondents (70%) reported using risk-stratified institutional management protocols. Respondents used manufacturer recommendations, rather than American Association of Physicists in Medicine or institutionally recommended dose limits, when the manufacturer limit was 0 Gy (44%), 0 to 2 Gy (45%), or >2 Gy (34%). The majority of respondents (86%) reported institutional policies to refer to a cardiologist for CIED evaluation both before and after completion of RT. Cumulative dose to CIED, pacing dependence, and neutron production were considered during risk stratification by 86%, 74%, and 50% of participants, respectively. Dose and energy thresholds for high-risk management were not known by 45% and 52% of respondents, with radiation oncologists and radiation therapists significantly less likely to report thresholds than medical physicists (P < .001). Although 59% of respondents felt comfortable managing patients with CIEDs, community respondents were less likely to feel comfortable than academic respondents (P=.037). The management of Canadian patients with CIEDs undergoing RT is characterized by variability and uncertainty. National consensus guidelines may have a role in improving provider knowledge and confidence in caring for this growing population.

Sixty‐Eighth Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists

Sixty‐Eighth Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists

Sixty-Seventh Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists.

Medical PhysicsVolume 48, Issue 8 p. 4657-4710 ABSTRACT Sixty-Seventh Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists Correction(s) for this article Erratum: Sixty-Seventh Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists—Poster 25: Long echo time magnetic resonance spectroscopy for aspartate measurement at 9.4 T Joshua Lazaruk, Brennen J. Dobberthien, Anthony G. Tessier, Atiyah Yahya, Medical Physics First Published online: October 18, 2021 First published: 17 August 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.15102Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume48, Issue8August 2021Pages 4657-4710 RelatedInformation

Perceptions of Canadian radiation oncologists, radiation physicists, radiation therapists and radiation trainees about the impact of artificial intelligence in radiation oncology – national survey

ContexteL'intelligence artificielle (IA) est en progression constante dans le domaine de la radio-oncologie au Canada et dans le monde. Bien que ce domaine continue d'évoluer, on ne comprend pas bien comment les radio-oncologues, les radiothérapeutes, les physiciens médicaux et les stagiaires en radiothérapie perçoivent l'IA et son impact sur la radio-oncologie en tant que discipline. L'objectif de cette étude était d'étudier la perception de ces quatre groupes professionnels canadiens sur l'IA et la manière dont l'IA affectera la radio-oncologie en tant que spécialité. MéthodologieAprès un examen scientifique approfondi de la littérature existante, un questionnaire à échelle de Likert de 29 questions a été élaboré à l'aide de Google Survey. Le questionnaire a été testé et distribué par des organisations nationales, notamment l'Association canadienne de radio-oncologie (ACRO), l'Association canadienne de radiothérapie médicale (ACTRM) et l'Organisation canadienne des physiciens médicaux (OCPM), d'abord en février, puis entre mars et juin 2020. Les résultats ont été analysés à l'aide de statistiques descriptives. Résultats159 réponses ont été reçues de 10 provinces canadiennes. Les connaissances sur l'IA étaient modérées avec une moyenne de 5/10, mais 91% ont répondu qu'ils étaient intéressés à en savoir plus. Les implications négatives de l'IA étaient liées à la crainte de perdre son emploi et à des changements dans la pratique. La majorité des participants ont convenu que l'IA aurait un impact positif sur le traitement des patients. ConclusionLes professionnels en radio-oncologie estiment que l'IA constituera une part importante du traitement des patients dans leur pratique future. Les craintes relatives à l'IA peuvent être atténuées par des programmes de formation continue sur l'IA, afin d'augmenter le degré de confiance des professionnels et leur acceptation de l'IA.

Sixty-Fifth Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists.

Sixty-Fifth Annual Scientific Meeting of Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists.

COMP Report: A survey of radiation safety regulations for medical imaging x-ray equipment in Canada.

X‐ray regulations and room design methodology vary widely across Canada. The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP) conducted a survey in 2016/2017 to provide a useful snapshot of existing variations in rules and methodologies for human patient medical imaging facilities. Some jurisdictions no longer have radiation safety regulatory requirements and COMP is concerned that lack of regulatory oversight might erode safe practices. Harmonized standards will facilitate oversight that will ensure continued attention is given to public safety and to control workplace exposure. COMP encourages all Canadian jurisdictions to adopt the dose limits and constraints outlined in Health Canada Safety Code 35 with the codicil that the design standards be updated to those outlined in NCRP 147 and BIR 2012.

COMP report: CPQR technical quality control guidelines for Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR), has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology (the most updated version of this guideline can be found on the CPQR website). This particular TQC details recommended quality control testing for Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

COMP Report: CPQR Technical Quality Control Guidelines for Data Management Systems.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology (the most updated version of this guideline can be found on the CPQR website). This particular TQC details recommended quality control testing of radiation data management systems.

COMP Report: CPQR technical quality control guidelines for conventional radiotherapy simulators.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology (the most updated version of this guideline can be found on the CPQR website). This particular TQC details recommended quality control testing of conventional radiotherapy simulators.

COMP report: CPQR technical quality control guidelines for major dosimetry equipment.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology (the most update version of this guideline can be found on the CPQR website). This article provides guidelines for quality control testing of major dosimetry equipment.

COMP report: CPQR technical quality control guidelines for low-dose-rate permanent seed brachytherapy.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology. This article contains detailed performance objectives and safety criteria for low‐dose‐rate (LDR) permanent seed brachytherapy.

COMP report: CPQR technical quality control guidelines for accelerator-integrated cone-beam systems for verification imaging.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists, in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology. This article presents the quality control guideline accelerator‐integrated cone‐beam systems for verification imaging that has resulted from this process.

COMP report: CPQR technical quality control guidelines for radiation treatment centers

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology. This announcement provides an introduction to the guidelines, describing their scope and how they should be interpreted. Details of recommended tests can be found in separate, equipment specific TQC guidelines published in the JACMP (COMP Reports), or the website of the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (www.cpqr.ca).

COMP report: CPQR technical quality control guidelines for brachytherapy remote afterloaders.

The Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP), in close partnership with the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR) has developed a series of Technical Quality Control (TQC) guidelines for radiation treatment equipment. These guidelines outline the performance objectives that equipment should meet in order to ensure an acceptable level of radiation treatment quality. The TQC guidelines have been rigorously reviewed and field tested in a variety of Canadian radiation treatment facilities. The development process enables rapid review and update to keep the guidelines current with changes in technology (the most updated version of this guideline can be found on the CPQR website). This particular TQC details recommended quality control testing of brachytherapy remote afterloaders.