Abstract Submission - Category Descriptions (Online Help is Available)

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Joint Imaging - Therapy Physics
Therapy Physics
Imaging Physics
Professional Topics

Joint Imaging - Therapy Physics (also see:Therapy Physics; Imaging Physics; Professional Topics)

Category	Sub-Category (if applicable)	Definition
Joint: Target Definition
	Molecular / Functional Imaging	Use of novel molecular / functional imaging modalities for definition of target and/or normal tissue structures.
	Image Registration / Fusion	Description and evaluation of methods for combining image data sets. NOTE: Those wishing to be considered for the John S. Laughlin Science Council Research Symposium MUST submit abstracts to this category only. Young Investigators who wish to participate in the Young Investigator Competition may submit to this category, but will not be considered for the Symposium. Junior Investigators who wish to participate in the Junior Investigator Competition may submit to this category and will be considered for the Symposium.
Joint: Image-Guided Procedures
	Modeling of Inter-Fraction Motion	Acquisition, construction, and use of temporally varying volumetric patient models pertaining to inter-fraction motion (i.e., motion occurring between successive therapeutic deliveries).
	Modeling of Intra-Fraction Motion	Acquisition, construction, and use of temporally varying volumetric patient models pertaining to intra-fraction motion (i.e., motion occurring within a given therapeutic delivery).
	Localization (Tomographic)	Tomographic imaging of internal structures prior to or during therapy for the purpose of adjusting setup and/or delivery. All tomographic imaging modalities (CT, ultrasound, MRI, etc.).
	Localization (Non-Tomographic)	Localization of target and/or normal tissues by non-tomographic means prior to or during therapy for the purpose of adjusting setup and/or delivery. All non-tomographic methods, image-based (e.g., portal imaging, fluoroscopy, etc.) or non-image-based (e.g., RF tracking, infrared tracking, respiration monitoring, etc.).
	Margin Assessment	Assessing margins for specific patients or populations of patients.
	Correction Strategies	Techniques for modifying patient setup, treatment plan, etc. based on online, offline, and/or adaptive guidance strategies.
	Interventional Procedures	Topics related to the use of imaging in the guidance of localized therapeutic procedures. Localized interventions include surgery (open and/or minimally invasive), interventional radiology, and brachytherapy. All imaging modalities. For example: MR-guided neurosurgery; Ultrasound-guided biopsy; Ultrasound-guided brachytherapy. Topics should involve novel imaging techniques applied to a given therapy, novel therapeutic techniques enabled by imaging, or both.
Joint: Imaging for Therapy Assessment
		Imaging for monitoring and assessment of therapy response, including novel imaging methods (e.g., PET, MRI, ultrasound, and optical), molecular imaging and biomarkers, and relation to clinical infrastructure and clinical trials.

Therapy Physics (also see: Joint Imaging - Therapy Physics; Imaging Physics; Professional Topics)

Category	Sub-Category (if applicable)	Definition
IMRT (photons, electrons, or particles)
	Optimization	Investigations of academic and/or pre-commercial optimization algorithms or methods.
	Commercial Systems	Evaluation or comparisons of commercial IMRT planning and delivery systems.
	Clinical Applications	Development of IMRT planning techniques; use of IMRT with specific clinical sites.
	Delivery	Description and/or evaluation of novel IMRT delivery systems.
	Verification and QA	Methods to verify IMRT treatments with measurements or independent calculations.
Monte Carlo
	Methods	Improvements in Monte Carlo techniques and modeling; photons, electrons, or particles.
	Validation	Validation of Monte Carlo planning with photons, electrons, or particles; clinical use.
Tx Planning and Delivery
	Clinical Planning	Improvements in clinical planning methods with photons, electrons, or particles, excluding IMRT or Monte Carlo.
	Treatment Techniques	New beam delivery systems with photons, electrons, or particles, excluding IMRT.
	Single and Hypofractionated Treatment	Clinical planning methods or treatment techniques related to single or hypofractionated treatment, excluding stereotactic; photons, electrons, or particles.
	Dose calculations	Development or investigation of dose computation methods with photons, electrons, or particles, excluding Monte Carlo.
Measurements
	Dosimetry Instrumentation	Evaluation of the characteristics of new dosimeters or evaluation of commercial devices.
	Clinical Measurements	Application of dosimetric measurements to specific clinical problems, such as small fields, buildup regions, and interfaces; photons, electrons, or particles.
	Calibration and QA	QA for planning, delivery or other processes/programs.
Brachytherapy
	New Isotopes and Radiopharmaceuticals	Use of new isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals; also devices if not specific to a clinical site.
	Treatment Techniques	Dosimetry, delivery, and radiation safety of brachytherapy.
	Emerging Clinical Applications	Novel applications of brachytherapy to prostate, breast, etc.
Stereotactic
		Dosimetry, planning, and delivery of stereotactic radiosurgery or radiation therapy; intra- or extra-cranial applications.
Radiobiology
	Fundamental	Radiation biology, animal experiments.
	Outcome Modeling	NTCP, TCP modeling from dose data.
	Treatment Planning and Evaluation	Use of radiobiological models in the treatment planning and evaluation processes.
Other (Therapy)
		Radiation safety, networks and DICOM, thermal therapies, any other.

Imaging Physics (also see: Joint Imaging - Therapy Physics; Therapy Physics; Professional Topics)

Category	Sub-Category (if applicable)	Definition
CAD
	New Technology and Techniques	Topics in computer-aided diagnosis, including new methodologies as applied to mammography, chest, CT and other modalities.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical application and/or evaluation of novel CAD technology and techniques.
Computed Tomography
	Reconstruction Techniques	Topics in all aspects of CT reconstruction, including cone-beam CT reconstruction, new reconstruction techniques, methods for fast reconstruction, correction of image artifacts, etc.
	New Technology	Topics related to the design and performance of CT imaging technology, including detector design, system evaluation, imaging performance, and dosimetry.
	Cone-Beam CT	Topics related to cone-beam CT, including multi-detector CT (e.g., 64-slice CT scanners) and the use of flat-panel detectors for cone-beam CT. Research related specifically to cone-beam CT reconstruction may be submitted in this subcategory or in "Reconstruction Techniques," above.
	Tomosynthesis	Topics related to tomosynthesis imaging. Research concerned with a specific body site (e.g., breast) may submitted in this subcategory or in categories below (e.g., "Mammography"), at the authors' discretion. Research related specifically to tomosynthesis reconstruction may be submitted in this subcategory or under "Reconstruction Techniques," above.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical application of novel computed tomography technology and techniques.
Display and PACS
	Display Technology and Evaluation	Techniques for display of image data, including display performance evaluation, new display technologies, 2D and 3D displays, and related topics.
	PACS	Technology, infrastructure, and techniques related to PACS.
Fluoroscopy
		Topics related to real-time fluoroscopy, including digital techniques, imaging system design and characterization, new methods of performance characterization, and clinical studies.
Image Science
	Imaging Performance: Measurement and Modeling	Topics of fundamental image science and imaging physics, including measurement and mathematical modeling of detector performance, imaging system evaluation, linear systems analysis, new evaluation techniques, performance metrology, etc. Topics specific to a given modality may be submitted in this category or that of the modality, at the authors' discretion.
	Observer Performance: Measurement and Modeling	Topics related to model and human observer performance, including experimental and theoretical analysis of observer performance (ROC, LROC, FROC, 2AFC, MAFC, etc.) and analytical models of human or machine visual systems.
Image Registration, Fusion, Segmentation, and Visualization
	Image Registration / Fusion	Techniques for registration and/or fusion of image data, including any combination of (2D, 3D, and/or 4D) imaging modalities, deformable modeling, and related topics.
	Image Processing and Segmentation	Topics in all areas of medical image processing including new methodologies, image or feature enhancement, tissue segmentation, and clinical evaluation, as applied to any medical imaging modality.
	Visualization / Rendering	Techniques for rendering and display of medical image data.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
	New Technology and Techniques	All aspects of MRI, MRS and MRA, including image acquisition, reconstruction, new technologies, and clinical studies. Unless specifically related to MR, abstracts concerning image processing, display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical application of novel magnetic resonance imaging technology and techniques.
Mammography
	New Technology and Techniques	All aspects of breast imaging including digital x-ray mammography, CT, MRI, and ultrasound. Topics include novel detectors and their evaluation, system evaluation, and new techniques in mammography. Abstracts concerning image processing, display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical application and/or evaluation of novel breast imaging technologies and techniques.
Multi-Modality Imaging
	CT + Nuclear Medicine	Imaging techniques combining CT and nuclear medicine (e.g., PET) techniques. Abstracts concerning image fusion may be submitted in this categories related to image registration / fusion. Abstracts concerning display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
	X-Ray + Ultrasound	Imaging techniques combining x-ray and ultrasound techniques. Abstracts concerning image fusion may be submitted in this categories related to image registration / fusion. Abstracts concerning display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
	Other	Imaging techniques combining any modalities not listed in the above Multi-Modality Imaging subcategories (e.g., x-ray + optical). Abstracts concerning image fusion may be submitted in this categories related to image registration / fusion. Abstracts concerning display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
Non-Conventional Imaging
		All modalities with application in medical imaging not covered in other categories, including infrared imaging, impedance imaging, thermoacoustic imaging, MEG, and other topics.
Nuclear Medicine
	New Technology and Techniques	All aspects of Nuclear Medicine, including SPECT and PET, imaging system design, image acquisition, reconstruction, tracers, and clinical studies. Abstracts concerning image fusion of Nuclear Medicine images may be submitted in this category or the Visualization and Image Fusion category. Unless specifically related to PET, abstracts concerning image processing, display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical application of novel nuclear medicine imaging techniques.
Optical Imaging
		All aspects of optical imaging, including optical coherence tomography, detectors, lasers, image acquisition, reconstruction, and clinical studies. Abstracts specific to small animal imaging by optical methods may be submitted in this category or the Small Animal Imaging category. Unless specifically related to optical imaging, abstracts concerning image processing, display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
Other (Imaging)
		Other aspects of imaging and diagnostic medical physics, including economics, history, demographics, relation to other fields of research, and other topics.
Dosimetry, Radiation Protection, and Quality Control (Imaging)
	Quality Control	Technology and techniques for imaging quality assurance, including topics related to the practice of diagnostic medical physics and radiology quality assurance (TQM, etc.). Included in this subcategory are topics of accreditation and regulatory interest, such as the ACR, FDA, etc.
	Imaging Dosimetry and Radiation Protection	All topics in the area of radiation protection, including shielding, safety, and dosimetry as related to medical imaging, including internal and external radiation sources. Special attention will be paid to submissions on new protection or dosimetry approaches. Abstracts concerning a given modality but focusing on dosimetric aspects (e.g., imaging dose in CT or PET) should be submitted under this category.
Radiography
	New Technology and Techniques	Topics related to x-ray radiography, including DR and CR, detector design and characterization, and novel instrumentation. Abstracts concerning image processing, display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical application of novel radiographic imaging technology and techniques.
Small Animal Imaging
		Topics related to pre-clinical imaging in small animals, including imaging systems, new technology, multi-modality imaging, and pre-clinical studies. All modalities, including x-ray, micro-CT, ultrasound, MRI, PET, etc.
Ultrasound
	New Technology and Techniques	All aspects of Ultrasound, including image acquisition, reconstruction, and new technology. Unless specifically related to Ultrasound, abstracts concerning image processing, display, CAD, etc. should be submitted under respective categories, below.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical applications of novel ultrasound imaging technology and techniques.
Vascular, Endovascular, and Cardiac Imaging
	New Technology and Techniques	Topics related to vascular, endovascular, and cardiac imaging. All modalities, including x-ray, ultrasound, MRI, PET, etc.
	Clinical Applications	Clinical application of novel vascular or cardiac imaging technology and techniques.

Professional Topics (see also: Joint Imaging - Therapy Physics; Therapy Physics; Imaging Physics)

Category	Sub-Category (if applicable)	Definition
Clinical Practice of Medical Physics
		Clinical implementation and clinical application of medical physics procedures and techniques. This also includes material aimed at teaching or demonstrating a procedure, technique or technology. This may also include issues specific to practice specific applications ( consulting group, solo, academic, etc) This category should NOT include basic research or scientific submissions.
Legislation and Regulation
		Regulatory or legislative issues that effect medical physics or are impacted by medical physics. This includes federal and state agency interactions and federal and state legislative bodies. CRCPD, NRC, Congress, CARE, others.
Ethics and Legal
		Litigation, law suits, contract preparation and reconciliation, ethics in patient care, in the workplace and in education and research.
Economics
		Economic and financial issues that effect medical physicists. This includes reimbursement, compensation, billing, etc.
Education
		Education and training of and by medical physicists. This may include the education of medical physicists, physicians, allied health and the public.
Administration and Management
		Management and administration of and by medical physicists. This may include staffing, human relations, recruiting, disciplinary actions, equipment selection and procurement, facility construction and financing.

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