IGRT/RPM Clinical Schools
Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology is proud to deliver Advanced Imaging Clinical Schools to visiting delegates from all around the world, on behalf of Varian Medical Systems.
In 2005, CCO became the first oncology centre in the United Kingdom to install a linear accelerator with an On-Board Imager (OBI) system. The OBI is a state-of-the-art imaging device that can be used to improve the accuracy of patient positioning and to allow the tracking of tumour motion. Varian subsequently chose us, as pioneers in the use of this equipment, to host and deliver training courses for their customers. In September 2007, we provided Europe’s first training school on Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) to an audience of oncologists, physicists and radiographers from Russia, Norway, Italy, Spain and Scotland. In April 2010, the School was expanded to include Respiratory Gating and Varian’s Real-time Position Management (RPM) system as well. The RPM system allows the movement of a patient’s tumour to be correlated with their breathing, thereby offering the possibility of delivering radiotherapy treatment in only part of the breathing cycle.
The Varian Advanced Imaging Clinical Schools on IGRT and RPM enable professionals throughout the world to be updated on the latest high-precision image-guided radiotherapy techniques. Delegates attend for three and a half days, with the programme including both formal lectures and practical sessions, some of which take place on the clinical equipment at CCO. The aim is to teach the theoretical and technical considerations that underpin the technology, and to allow participants to gather first-hand experience in the operation of the equipment. The Schools have been run every year since 2007 on four or five occasions per year, typically in February, April, June, September and November.
Further information is available on the Varian Medical Systems website.