Clinical medical physics in radiooncology
Teaching
- Online Master Advanced physical Methods in Radiooncology (APMR), Heidelberg University
- Medical physics for physicists, post gradual studies of Heidelberg University
- Medical physics and technology for radiooncologists, post gradual studies of Heidelberg University
- Teaching assignment Duale Hochschule Baden Württemberg (DHBW) Karlsruhe
- Teaching assignment for MTRA -School (training of radiotherapists),
- Teaching assignment radiation protection at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Our goal is to develop methods for high-precision irradiation of tumors within their three dimensional boundaries and at the same time spare the adjacent normal tissue as good as possible. To achieve this, the patient needs to be fixed precisely in the same position for each treatment fraction (session). The accuracy of patient positioning directly translates into the precision of the irradiation beam applied and thus the often required high doses needed to eradicate the tumor completely can be applied safely resulting in higher chances to cure the patient.
Du to constant progress in the field of radiotherapy we have today also the possibility
- to perform radiotherapy during surgery (IORT),
- to irradiate a tumor from various angles (stereotactic radiotherapy)
- to vary the dose applied within the tumor individually
- to use a therapy beam with different intensity distributions (intensity modulated radiotherapy, IMRT)
- to adapt the therapy beam with collimators to the contours of the tumors
- to fix the patient precisely and reproducibly in position for the treatment
- to use not only photons, but also protons and heavy ions for radiotherapy
Computer scientists have developed radiotherapy planning software that allows to predict and to calculate the dose that will be deposited in the tissue prior to the irradiation. This also allows correction for inevitable motions of organs (such as breathing and heart beat) during the treatment.
Besides our duties in the clinical routine we are active in development and teaching in the following areas: