Willis-Knighton Cancer Center is hosting an national proton radiotherapy physics workshop Nov. 15 and 16. The workshop is sponsored by Willis-Knighton via an IBA grant. IBA (Ion Beam Applications) provides proton therapy solutions for the treatment of cancer.  The workshop is for medical physicists, dosimetrists and physics residents/students. It is designed as an introduction to the implementation and utilization of proton therapy in a community or regional cancer center.

Among noted speakers will be Jacob Flanz, PhD, of Burr Proton Therapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston; Xiaoning Ding, PhD, DABR, of Mayo Clinic in Phoenix; Xuanfeng “Leo” Ding, PhD, DABR, of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan; and Mark Pankuch, PhD, DABR, of Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center in Chicago.

Topics to be covered include the basics of proton physics, biology and dosimetry as well as technical aspects and experience of proton implementation and utilization on various proton therapy systems including Willis-Knighton Cancer Center’s Proteus®ONE compact, image-guided, pencil-beam scanning, intensity-modulated proton therapy system.

Willis-Knighton’s proton therapy unit was the first image-guided compact pencil beam unit installed in the world. The center routinely welcomes national and international visitors who want to learn more about this innovative technology and its use in the treatment of cancer patients. Willis-Knighton Cancer Center is home to a residency for medical physics and has a robust physics team that includes five PhD medical physicists, three dosimetrists and two medical physics residents. Recently, the medical physics team was named the 2019 recipient of the George Starkschall Award of Excellence for Outstanding Radiation Oncology Physics Article.