CANADIAN MEDICAL PHYSICS NEWSLETTER nterACTIONS Le BULLETIN CANADIEN de PHYSIQUE MÉDICALE a b C A B c d PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40049361 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: BARB CALLAGHAN C/O NOLAN DRUGS POST OFFICE 8901 118th AVENUE EDMONTON, AB T5B 0T5 A publication of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists and the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine http://www.medphys.ca Images from prototype MVCT ISSN 1488-6847 scanner in Cobalt-60 beam 51 (2) avril/April 2005 About our Cover COMP EXECUTIVE These images were obtained by a prototype, bench-top, third generation megavoltage computed tomography (MVCT) scanner in a Co60 beam. The Chair: system uses an 80-element detector array of CdWO4 crystals and photodiodes, Mr. Peter O’Brien arranged on an arc of radius 110 cm. This phantom (module CTP612 in Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional CATPHAN500, Phantom Labs) was especially designed for MVCT, and Cancer Centre 2075 Bayview Avenue consists of inserts at 3%, 2.5% and 1.5% nominal contrast levels. Each contrast Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5 level has cylinders of diameters 2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 1.5 cm, and there is Tel: (416) 480-4622 a central cylinder of 0.4 cm diameter with a contrast level of 1.5 %. The dose to Fax: (416) 480-6801 the centre of the phantom was estimated to be approximately 17 cGy when all peter.o’[email protected] the projections were used in the reconstruction process. Images with doses of Past Chair: 8.5, 4.3 and 2.1 cGy were obtained by utilising only one-half, one-fourth and Dr. Clément Arsenault one-eighth of data pulses per revolution, respectively. The figure shows images Dr. Leon Richard Oncology Centre of CTP612 module at four different dose levels, (a) 17 cGy, (b) 8.5 cGy, (c) 4.3 Hôpital Dr. Georges-L. Dumont 37 rue Providence cGy and (d) 2.1 cGy. Groups A, B and C have measured contrast levels of 2.1%, Moncton, NB, E1C 8X3 1.9% and 2.8% respectively while the cylinder in the middle has a contrast of Tel: (506) 862-4151 1.5% in Co60 with respect to the background material in the phantom. All the Fax: (506) 862-4222 images have been windowed and levelled in the same way. The bench-top [email protected] MVCT provides a contrast resolution of 1.5% at 0.6 cm diameter using a dose of Chair Elect: 2.1 cGy. Dr. Stephen Pistorius CancerCare Manitoba Images provided by T. Monajemi1, D. Tu1, D. Rickey2, S. Rathee1, and G. 675 McDermot Avenue 1 Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0V9 Fallone ; 1. Cross Cancer Institute and University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB., 2. Tel: (204) 787-4134 CancerCare Manitoba and University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Fax: (204) 775-1684 [email protected] Secretary: The Canadian Medical Physics Newsletter, which is Job advertisements should be submitted to: Dr. William Ansbacher a publication of the Canadian Organization of Dr. Julian Badragan BC Cancer Agency Medical Physicists (COMP) and the Canadian Col- Tom Baker Cancer Centre 2410 Lee Street lege of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) is published 1331-29 Street NW Victoria, BC, V8R 6V5 four times per year on 1 Jan., 1 April, 1 July, and 1 Calgary, AB, T2N 4N2 Tel: (250) 519-5621 Oct. The deadline for submissions is one month E-mail: [email protected] FAX: (250) 519-2024 before the publication date. Enquiries, story ideas, Phone: (403) 944-4598 [email protected] images, and article submissions can be made to: Fax: (403) 944-2397 Treasurer: Dr. Boyd McCurdy Mr. Horacio Patrocinio CancerCare Manitoba Job Advertising Options McGill University Health Centre 675 McDermot Avenue 1650 avenue Cedar Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3E 0V9 OPTION 1 ($200): Job posting on COMP/CCPM Montréal, PQ, H3G 1A4 Email: [email protected] website only (updated monthly) Tel: (514) 934-8052 Phone: (204) 787-1966 OPTION 2 ($300): Job posting on COMP/CCPM Fax: (514) 934-8229 Fax: (204) 775-1684 website AND in InterACTIONS! (single page) [email protected] Members of the Editorial Board include: OPTION 3 ($300): Job posting is immediately e- Councillor for Communica- Peter Munro: [email protected] mailed to COMP/CCPM members (no website or InterACTIONS! posting) tions: Pat Cadman: [email protected] Mr. Darcy Mason Darcy Mason: [email protected] Cancer Centre for the Southern Interior 399 Royal Avenue Please submit stories in Publisher 98, Word 6.0, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 5L3 Word 97, or ASCII text format. Hardcopy submis- Tel: (250) 712-3917 sions will be scanned to generate an electronic Fax: (250) 712-3911 document for inclusion in the Newsletter. Images [email protected] in Tiff format at 300 dpi resolution are preferred. Regular Advertising Councillor for Professional All contents of the Newsletter are copyright of Affairs: Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists and 1/2 page 1 Addn. the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine. page pages Dr. Peter McGhee Please do not reproduce without permission. Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Member $100 $100 Centre Announcement 980 Oliver Road Corporate advertising enquiries can be made (until Corporate Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 6V4 a new Executive Director is found) to: Member $150 $200 $100 Tel: (807) 684-7325 Dr. Boyd McCurdy Non Profit Fax: (807) 684-5801 CancerCare Manitoba Organisation $225 $300 $125 [email protected] 675 McDermot Avenue Corporate Non- Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3E 0V9 Member $300 $400 $200 Email: [email protected] Phone: (204) 787-1966 Color Add $400 (when available) Fax: (204) 775-1684 InterACTIONS 51 (2) avril/April 2005 CCPM BOARD Inside this issue: President: Dr. Brenda Clark Medical Physics Division BC Cancer Agency Optimization in Intensity Modulated 600 West 10th Ave. Radiotherapy ...57 Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4E6 Tel: (604) 877-6000 Stewart Gaede and Eugene Wong FAX: (604) 877-6059 [email protected] Vice-President: Dr. Dick Drost Nuclear Medicine Department St. Joeseph’s Health Care London 268 Grosvenor Street London, ON. N6A 4V2 Tel: (519) 646-6100 x64141 FAX: (519) 646-6135 [email protected] Registrar: Message From the COMP Chair – Peter O’Brien 44 Dr. Wayne Beckham Vancouver Island Cancer Centre Message From the CCPM President – Brenda Clark 45 2410 Lee Street Victoria, BC, V8R 6V5 Message From the Executive Director of COMP/CCPM – Nancy Barrett 46 Tel. (250) 370-8225 Report on Great Lakes AAPM Chapter Meeting — Jake Van Dyk 47 FAX: (250) 370-8697 [email protected] 30 years ago: First PET scanner in Canada — Chris Thompson 48 ACROSS CANADA — Toronto-Sunnybrook, St. John’s 50 Chief Examiner: Dr. Katharina Sixel Proposed CCPM By-Law Amendments — Brenda Clark 52 Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre Report on WesCan 2005 — Matt Schmid 54 2075 Bayview Avenue WesCan 2005 Conference Abstracts 55, 56, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5 67-74 Tel: (416) 480-5000 ext. 1095 FAX: (416) 480-6801 [email protected] Secretary-Treasurer: Corporate Members 75 Dr. Narinder Sidhu Advertising 60, 61, Saskatoon Cancer Centre 74, 76-80 20 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK S7N 4H4 Tel: (306) 655-2696 Fax: (306) 655-2701 [email protected] General Board Members: Dr. John Andrew Mr. Michael Evans Dr. John Rowlands COMP/CCPM Office Ms. Barb Callaghan COMP Secretariat COMP/CCPM Office PO Box 39059 Edmonton, AB, T5B 4T8 Telephone: (780) 488-4334 Facsimile: (780) 482-4425 [email protected] Message from the COMP Chair: As promised in the last Interactions, (www.cap.ca). There are also commemorative we have now completed the process for hiring items (mugs, t-shirts etc) available through a new executive director for COMP and the the CAP. CCPM. We were fortunate to have several good candidates for this position. Brenda Hopefully when this article is printed winter Clark and I interviewed the finalists and after weather will be behind us. With renewed consulting with the COMP executive and the energy we can begin the last stages of CCPM board we have agreed to a 2-year planning for the annual COMP meeting in contract with Ms. Nancy Barrett and her Hamilton, July 7-9. I must thank Darcy firm, Association Management, Consulting Mason for the time and effort that he has put and Evaluation Services. Nancy was into the preparation for the meeting. We have introduced as the new executive director in an used a new AAPM sponsored abstract service email sent in January to all COMP members. This contract will bring stability and continuity to this very important COMP position. Nancy will be the face of COMP, acting as the main point of contact for our We expect that commercial colleagues, for other medical physics associations and for other groups. Nancy will be at the annual meeting and is this new leader- anxious to meet as many COMP and CCPM members as possible. We expect that this new leadership will add significantly to the ship [Nancy profile of our organization and will add value for the members. However, there will be a cost. At the AGM this summer a proposal Barrett] will add will be put forward to increase membership fees, partially in response to our new leadership model. significantly to Plans for the COMP Gold Medal are progressing although the input from the the profile of our members for the medal design has been unimpressive. At this writing I am not aware of 1 submission!. However, I am very pleased Mr. Peter O’Brien, COMP Chair organization and to announce that Dave Rogers has agreed to this year (AMOS) and Darcy as chair of the be the chair of the selection committee.