Symposium on Adaptive Radiotherapy
“If you can't see it, you can miss it: the role of imaging in radiation oncology.” In Memoriam of Wolfgang Schlegel
Dear colleagues and friends,
we would like to invite you to join the inauguration of a novel treatment system for offline-MR guided radiotherapy at DKFZ. It consists of an innovative system for cone-beam-CT-based (CBCT) adaptive therapy and a 3T MRI system, located just outside the treatment room. Using a patient shuttle, we can transport patients in treatment position from the MRI to the linac and back and acquire additional MR and PET images during the course of the RT workflow.
This installation is the last in a row of several research systems, which have been installed at the DKFZ and the University Hospital in Heidelberg. This research line was initiated by Prof. Wolfgang Schlegel, the founder and head of the Division for Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology at DKFZ, who sadly passed away in 2022 and whom we want to dedicate this symposium to.
Wolfgang Schlegel envisioned the power of adaptive radiotherapy and was driving the development of image-guided radiotherapy at DKFZ. He initiated the installation of one of the first CT-on rails in the treatment room at DKFZ in 2003. Among other inventions, in his department the prototype of a linac with an integrated CBCT was developed and patented between 2000 and 2005. In a late publication entitled "If you can't see it you can miss it" (https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncq022) he also discussed the possibility to include biologically adapted RT, based on MRI and PET. With our new installation we have come a large step closer to Wolfgang Schlegel's ideas in this regard, as we can now start to integrate more efficiently functional MRI as well as PET images into an adaptive RT workflow.
With this Symposium, we want to honor the legacy of the founding father of the Division of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology and at the same time to discuss the state-of-the-art and various directions in modern image guided radiotherapy.
More information about the new ETHOS at DKFZ in Heidelberg is available here.
Photo Gallery
Click here to get some impressions of the event.
Scientific Directors
Prof. Dr. Oliver Jäkel
Head of the Division of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology, DKFZ, Heidelberg
Program, Speakers and Flyer
Date and Time
Date: December 05th 2023
Time: 1.30 - 6pm (CET), including guided tours to clinical devices at DKFZ after 6pm
Venue
The symposium takes place on site at DKFZ in the lecture hall of the communication center. It is held in English.
Address:
German Cancer Research Center
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
DE-69120 Heidelberg
Registration
Participation is free of charge, but limited. Therefore, please register via the following link from Sep. 11th to Nov. 27th 2023.
Contact
Please feel free to contact us by email to symposium.medphys@dkfz-heidelberg.de if you have any questions.
Local Organizing Team
Sabine Fritz, Silke Cardona
Division of Medical Physics in Radiology
Anna Moshanina, Dr. Simone Barthold-Beß, Marcel Schäfer
Division of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology
German Cancer Research Center
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
DE-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Accreditation and Endorsements
The symposium is accepted by the "Landesärztekammer Baden-Württemberg" (LÄK) with 5 points (Fortbildungspunkte) in Category A for the "Certificate of Advanced Trainigs" (Fortbildungszertifikat).
Furthermore, the event is certified by the "German Society for Medical Physics" (DGMP) with 4 points as "Weiterbildungspunkte" as well as "Fortbildungspunkte" (click here for more information).