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NEWS RELEASE:
Preliminary Highlights of American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)
51st Annual Meeting,
Anaheim, California, July 26 - 30, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, please contact:

Jason Socrates Bardi,
American Institute of Physics,
301-209-3091 (office)
858-775-4080 (cell)
jbardi@aip.org

Sudarshan Chamakuri,
AAPM Media Relations Subcommittee Chair
radiationtherapy@hotmail.com

Washington, D.C. (July 1, 2009) -- The 51st meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) convenes this month from July 26 - 30, 2009 in Anaheim, California. Thousands of scientists and board-certified health professionals will present the latest developments in medical imaging and radiation therapy and discuss the ethical and regulatory issues facing those fields today.

Journalists are invited to attend the AAPM meeting for free. Registration information appears at the end of this news release. Future news releases in the coming weeks will provide extensive details on many of the meeting presentations. Some preliminary highlights include:

  1. Proton Physics and Technology
  2. 3D Ultrasound of the Beating Heart
  3. Real-Time MRI-Guided Radiotherapy
  4. Hybrid MRI Linac System
  5. Investigation of Cerebral Gray and White Matter Diseases
  6. Laser-Driven Protons
  7. Ultrasound Molecular Imaging
  8. Predictive Localization of Moving Targets
  9. Novel Imaging of the Immune System and Cancer
  10. Microbeam Radiation Therapy Using Carbon Nanotubes
  11. Drug Eluting Implanted Devices
  12. Direct Targeting in Deep Brain Stimulation
  13. Correlations of Organ Growth with Age, Body Mass, and Height
  14. Magnitude of Radiation Exposure to U.S. Population
  15. AAPM Initiatives in Quantitative Imaging
  16. Women in Medical Physics
  17. Industrial Physics Forum

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  1. PROTON PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY

    "We will discuss the rationale for proton therapy, the current status of proton therapy, proton physics and dosimetry, and technology for the acceleration and delivery of proton beams. We will also discuss new developments in proton therapy accelerators and treatment delivery systems..."
    READ MORE

  2. 3D ULTRASOUND OF THE BEATING HEART

    "The presented approach is a new and robust approach to semi-automatically track small substructures in the beating heart..."
    READ MORE

  3. REAL-TIME MRI-GUIDED RADIOTHERAPY

    "... the first reported successful system providing any [magnetic resonance] imaging during radiotherapy irradiation is discussed."
    READ MORE

  4. HYBRID MRI LINAC SYSTEM

    "...This proof of concept opens the door towards a clinical prototype to start testing MRI guided Radiotherapy (MRIgRT) in the clinic."
    READ MORE

  5. INVESTIGATION OF CEREBRAL GRAY AND WHITE MATTER DISEASES

    "Quantitative MRI of cerebral gray and white matters has found widespread application in brain research. "
    READ MORE

  6. LASER-DRIVEN PROTONS

    "Laser-accelerated proton and ion beams have a great potential to replace conventional radiotherapy systems due to its compact design and cost-effectiveness. Many technical and engineering issues must be solved before a clinical prototype can be built for radiotherapy applications..."
    READ MORE

  7. ULTRASOUND MOLECULAR IMAGING

    "Specialized ultrasound systems and targeted microbubbles optimized for vascular molecular imaging… sensitive and selective imaging of adherent, targeted contrast agents requires improvements in both the physical systems and probes. We have developed transducers and signal processing techniques to maximize transducer bandwidth and integrated the components with a clinical ultrasound scanner...."
    READ MORE

  8. PREDICTIVE LOCALIZATION OF MOVING TARGETS

    "Recently, rapid development has been made in locating and targeting moving tumors"
    READ MORE

  9. NOVEL IMAGING OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AND CANCER

    Data in animal models and preliminary studies in humans support the use of [18F]FAC and its analogs for immune monitoring by Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and suggest a wide range of clinical applications in immune disorders and in certain types of cancer.
    READ MORE

  10. MICROBEAM RADIATION THERAPY USING CARBON NANOTUBES

    "We have demonstrated the feasibility of generating high dose rate electron microbeam radiation using a carbon nanotube field emission based electron irradiator. The compact size and low cost of the device will make the device more accessible for cancer research community.
    READ MORE

  11. DRUG ELUTING IMPLANTED DEVICES

    "Image guided radiation therapy techniques… may be enhanced with drug eluting coatings to provide localized increase in biologic effective dose without increasing the physical dose involved in the therapy..."
    READ MORE

  12. DIRECT TARGETING IN DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION

    "[The methods have the] potential to allow for direct visualization and targeting of regions that cannot be visualized by standard techniques."
    READ MORE

  13. CORRELATIONS OF ORGAN GROWTH WITH AGE, BODY MASS, AND HEIGHT

    "The correlation of liver and kidney volume with patient age, body mass, and height are apparent for pediatric patients, and can be used to construct organ-growth models that may be useful in image registration, dose accumulation and radiation-response assessment for pediatric radiotherapy treatment planning..."
    READ MORE

  14. MAGNITUDE OF RADIATION EXPOSURE TO U.S. POPULATION

    "The largest contributor to the collective dose to U.S. population is from CT and Nuclear Medicine. CT scanning has increased nearly 10-11% annually in the US in the past two decade. The number of CT procedures has increased from 3 million CT scans in 1980 to more than 69 million CT scans in 2007…"
    READ MORE

  15. AAPM INITIATIVES IN QUANTITATIVE IMAGING

    "The Science Council of the AAPM has initiated the Quantitative Imaging Initiative, which is an effort focused on moving the field of diagnostic imaging towards a more quantitative footing…"
    READ MORE

  16. WOMEN IN MEDICAL PHYSICS

    This session focuses on professional development skills for women, including topics such as time management, conflict resolution, and the role of mentors for women building their careers. It features two speakers:
    • Karen Garman, President and Senior Learning Consultant for Healthcare Education, Leadership, and Performance, Inc. (HELP, Inc).
    • Elizabeth Travis, a professor in the Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Associate Vice President for Women Faculty Programs, and the editor of a book on mentoring entitled “Legends and Legacies: Personal journeys of women physicians and scientists at MD Anderson Cancer Center.”

  17. INDUSTRIAL PHYSICS FORUM

    For each of the past 51 years, the Industrial Physics Forum (IPF) has brought together industry, academic, and government leaders to examine applications of scientific research to emerging industrial research and development (R&D) activities. This year's IPF, "Frontiers in Quantitative Imaging for Cancer Detection and Treatment," will be held in conjunction with the 51st AAPM Meeting on Monday and Tuesday, July 27 - 28. See more here.

Speakers in Anaheim will also discuss next-generation DNA sequencers, opto-genetics for brain imaging, and medical applications enabled by accelerators and particle physics.

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PRESS REGISTRATION

Journalists are welcome to attend the conference free of charge. AAPM will grant complimentary registration to any full-time or freelance journalist working on assignment. If you are a reporter and would like to attend, please fill out the press registration form:
http://www.aapm.org/meetings/09AM/VirtualPressRoom/documents/pressregform.pdf.

The Press guidelines are posted at: http://www.aapm.org/meetings/09AM/VirtualPressRoom/.

Questions about the meeting or requests for interviews, images, or background information should be directed to Jason Bardi (jbardi@aip.org, 858-775-4080).

RELATED LINKS

ABOUT MEDICAL PHYSICISTS

If you ever had a mammogram, ultrasound, X-ray, MRI, PET scan, or known someone treated for cancer, chances are reasonable that a medical physicist was working behind the scenes to make sure the imaging procedure was as effective as possible. Medical physicists help to develop new imaging techniques, improve existing ones, and assure the safety of radiation used in medical procedures in radiology, radiation oncology and nuclear medicine. They collaborate with radiation oncologists to design cancer treatment plans. They provide routine quality assurance and quality control on radiation equipment and procedures to ensure that cancer patients receive the prescribed dose of radiation to the correct location. They also contribute to the development of physics intensive therapeutic techniques, such as the stereotactic radiosurgery and prostate seed implants for cancer to name a few. The annual AAPM meeting is a great resource, providing guidance to physicists to implement the latest and greatest technology in a community hospital close to you.

ABOUT AAPM

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a scientific, educational, and professional organization of more than 6,000 medical physicists. Headquarters are located at the American Center for Physics in College Park, MD. Publications include a scientific journal ("Medical Physics"), technical reports, and symposium proceedings.
See: www.aapm.org.

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