Meeting Program Information

How the Meeting is Organized

The numbering scheme encodes the day, time block, room assignment and talk number into the abstract presentation code.

Example:

TU - E - 203 - 1
TU:	Day of Week (SU - TH)
E:	Time Block as listed below
203	Room Assignment 203, BR (Ballroom) A, BRB, 204B, 204C, 201C, 201B, 202
1:	Talk Number (order of presentation within session: 1, 2, 3, etc)

The organization for each day (Monday - Thursday) is shown in the table below. Times and Rooms vary on Sunday and Thursday.

Time Block	203	BRA	BRB	204B	204C	201C	201B	202
Block A 7:30 am - 8:25 am	A –203	A –BRA	A –BRB	A –	A –204C	A –201C	A –201B	A –202
Block B 8:30 am - 9:25 am	B –203	B –BRA	B –BRB	B –204B	B –204C	B –201C	B –201B	B –202
Break 9:30 am – 10:00 am
Block C 10:00 am - 12:00 pm	C –203	C –BRA	C –BRB	C –204B	C –204C	C –201C	C –201B	C –202
Lunch 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Block D 1:30 pm - 3:20 pm	D –203	D –BRA	D –BRB	D –204B	D –204C	D –201C	D –201B	D –202
Break 3:20 pm – 4:00 pm
Block E 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm	E –203	E –BRA	E –BRB	E –204B	E –204C	E –201C	E –201B	E –202

This scheme (above) is used throughout the meeting, except on Sunday. Most, but not all, of the continuing education courses are in the morning blocks A and B. Most, but not all, of the scientific symposia and proffered sessions are in blocks C, D, and E.

Self Assessment Module (SAM) Symposia - There are a total of 8 SAM symposia. Two will be held each day, Monday - Thursday, from 7:30 - 9:25.

In general, therapy-related sessions have been assigned to Room 203, Ballroom A (BRA), and Ballroom B (BRB); joint imaging/therapy related sessions have been assigned to Rooms 204B and 204C; imaging-related sessions have been assigned to Rooms 201 A and 201C. All professional sessions have been assigned to Room 203. All Practical Medical Physics have been assigned to Room 202.

Moderated Poster Discussion sessions will be held Sunday, July 18 and Monday, July 19. The General Poster Session will be held on Sunday, July 18. Poster sessions are laid out spatially, not temporally, like the oral presentations. Poster boards are marked with the abstract presentation code. Electronic poster viewing stations are located in the Poster Area of the Exhibit Hall.

Of note: There is a special symposium on patient safety on Sunday at 2:00 pm. The Young Investigators Symposium is on Sunday at 4:00 pm. The President’s Symposium is at 10:00 am on Monday. The John S. Laughlin Science Council Symposium is at 10:00 am on Wednesday.

How the Sessions are Defined

Science Program

Scientific Session - These sessions comprise the bulk of the scientific program, which are where the best-scored proffered abstracts are orally presented. Each session is on one or several specific scientific topics, with several short oral presentations (typically 10 or 12 min each). The oral presentations are supplemented by electronic poster presentations (see Electronic Poster Presentation below).

Symposium - A symposium is a topical session focusing on a current topic related to pioneering or state-of-the-art research and development of medical physics. The symposia often include multiple speakers, some of them invited, to speak on the topic. Some symposia will include a panel discussion aiming to define the current state of the field and to distill the thinking of the experts.

Moderated Poster Discussion Session - This category is focused on a group of highly-scored scientific posters with a brief verbal overview given by the moderator or author during the session. This is equivalent to an oral presentation, but allows for more discussion/interaction between the audience and authors. Authors will be present during the scheduled session.

General Poster Discussion Session - This category includes the accepted proffered abstracts that are not associated with oral or moderated poster presentations. The materials are judged to be of high scientific quality and merit presentation at the annual meeting. Authors will be present during the scheduled session in order to interact with meeting attendees.

Electronic Poster Presentation - This category includes supplemental electronic postings associated with the oral and moderated poster discussion presentations. The electronic posters may be viewed in the "Electronic Poster Viewing Areas" located in designated areas in the exhibit hall.

Educational Program

Education Council Symposium - This symposium is designed to update our members on the various activities of the Education Council. Emphasis is placed on the resources and programs that are available to enhance the skills of our members as well as resources that are available through the Association to assist our members when presenting programs to related health professionals and the public.

Educational Courses – The Educational Program consists of courses in two major areas: Radiation Oncology Physics (24 courses) and Diagnostic Imaging Physics (32 courses). The program will feature courses on standard therapy physics practices, including radiation shielding and safety, IMRT/IGRT QA, treatment planning of complex cases, and Monte Carlo techniques. Lectures on special clinical procedures, such as SRS/SBRT, brachytherapy, and proton therapy will be included. In addition, topicson functional imaging and image processing will be covered. The Diagnostic Imaging courses cover the physics and technology of multiple diagnostic imaging modalities including: CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiography/fluoroscopy, radionuclide, and mammography as well as courses on informatics, radiation safety and risk management. These courses are excellent updates for the practicing medical physicist and provide opportunities for younger physicists to learn from the top experts in the field.

Professional Program

Professional Council Symposia – Symposia including the Professional Council Sunday Symposium are focused on current topics that involve the professional practice of medical physics. Subjects may range over all aspects of practice such as legal issues, government affairs, research and clinical funding, economics, practice management, peer relations, standards and guidance and ethics.

Professional Session - Proffered presentations are orally presented, are specific to professional topics and represent the top submitted proffered professional abstracts. These are supplemented by electronic poster presentations.

Professional Courses - will be held for specific purposes that require multi-hour programs such as government mandated training and education, time intensive professional issues, or programs that involve attendee participation.

New Member Symposia – will provide an introduction to the AAPM, our current officers, council chairs and operations. The symposium will focus on those services the organization provides that are especially helpful for new members, and on how new members can become active in the organization.

Practical Medical Physics Program

The Practical Medical Physics Track focuses on the activities of the clinical medical physicist. Ten courses covering practical aspects of therapy, diagnostic, and nuclear medicine physics are offered this year. Some of the challenges of setting up a new SBRT program along with practical issues related to proton therapy and PET imaging will be presented. Also covered will be quality assurance of therapy treatment planning systems and CT simulators along with concepts related to MR imaging safety. Other sessions will be dedicated to the following topics: principles of Baldrige QA, description of the publishing process in Medical Physics, and the development of rich learning experiences for medical physics education. An exciting hands-on workshop featuring ultrasound QA/QC will also be presented.

Note: Presentation Identifiers* - Where indicated, denotes Presenting Author