Chris Henry, a dosimetrist with Willis-Knighton Cancer Center, has placed 5^th overall out of more than 150 international participants in the ProKnow World Championship of Treatment Planning.

Lane R. Rosen, MD, medical director of Willis-Knighton Radiation Oncology, says Henry’s fifth-place showing is a great achievement, but more so since it was done while continuing his regular schedule and Cancer Center patient responsibilities.

Henry and fellow participants from around the world were given rules and guidelines in advance of the March 1 competition. The purpose of the competition was to determine which planner and planning system could produce the highest quality plan in an aggressive and limited time frame – four hours.

Patient CT images and critical data such as a description of the body site and prescription were available once the competition began. Reviewing the patient scenario, Henry created a 3-dimensional computer model of the tumor and internal structure using a CT scan and specialized software. He was then able to arrange the beams to create a treatment plan so that the tumor received the most radiation and surrounding healthy tissue very little. 

“For Chris to come up with the fifth best treatment plan in the world while maintaining his work schedule is evidence of the high quality of care you get at Willis-Knighton Cancer Center,” Rosen says. “This recognition is an example of the type of work that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see and is an indication of the level of care patients can expect from Willis-Knighton Cancer Center.”