NOTE: Registration has closed due to capacity limit. September 16 - 18, 2020, 12 - 5:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time Online via Zoom Cost: Free Registration: Closed. We have reached capacity for this course. Contact: Bruce.Faddegon@ucsf.edu Format/Educational methods: A 15 hour on line course divided evenly over three days (5 hours a day with a 15-minute break) with lectures and practical examples. The students will use the TOPAS system hands-on to simulate the examples shown by the instructors and observe the effect of changing parameters used in the different simulations. Participants must have a computer capable of running TOPAS.
Target audience: Medical physicists with basic knowledge of Monte Carlo simulations. The course is designed for new as well as experienced TOPAS users. Requirement: Participants are required to complete the 2-hour on-line TOPAS introductory course and have TOPAS installed on their computer prior to the course. Sign-up for the introductory course is available at topasmc.org/registration. Installation instructions are given as part of the course.
Course objectives: To provide the background necessary for participants to reliably use the TOPAS Tool for Particle Simulation for Monte Carlo simulation in medicine. Participants will learn the fundamentals of the Monte Carlo method and its application in medicine. They will then learn through lectures and examples how TOPAS provides a simple, effective means to access the Geant4 Monte Carlo toolkit. Participants will leave the course with practical knowledge on how to use TOPAS for their own application. Registration period: April 20, 2020, closing June 20, 2020 (or when reach 50 participants, first come first served). The course might be cancelled if fewer than 20 participants register. Registration method: Register online at topasmc.org. Activity location: The course will be given online. The institutions of the instructors are listed below. Zoom: Zoom login information and password will be distributed to registered participants prior to the course. CAMPEP application statement: This meeting has applied to CAMPEP for approval of 15 MPCEC hours. The online system to be used will allow tracking of attendance. Sources of support: This course is supported under NIH grant U24CA215123. Instructors (in alphabetical order):
TOPAS Course Outline
Times given in Pacific Time (PT – San Francisco) and Eastern Time (ET - Boston) Each lecture includes time for questions. Participants will participate in one of three breakout sessions for each of the examples 1-3 and 4-6 the following day, giving time to try out the examples before the breakout sessions. Day 1 (Wednesday, September 16, 2020) Jan Schuemann, chair Introduction to Monte Carlo and TOPAS simulation of x-ray and electron therapy PT ET 9:00 am 12:00 pm Welcome and introductions (Joseph, Bruce, Harald) 9:15 am 12:15 pm Lecture 1 - Review of fundamentals of the Monte Carlo method (Jose) 10:00 am 1:00 pm Lecture 2 - Monte Carlo in x-ray and electron therapy (Bruce) 11:00 am 2:00 pm Example 1 - Linac treatment head simulation (KyungDon) 12:00 am 3:00 pm Break 12:15 am 3:15 pm Example 2 - Variance reduction for a generic x-ray linac (Jose) 1:15 am 4:15 pm Example 3 - Patient simulation: DICOM interface (Jungwook) 2:15 am 5:15 pm Adjourn - Participants work on problems from example sessions Day 2 (Thursday, September 17, 2020) Aimee McNamara, chair TOPAS simulation of proton therapy PT ET 9:00 am 12:00 pm Breakout sessions: Examples 1-3 10:00 am 1:00 pm Lecture 3 - Monte Carlo in proton therapy (Harald) 10:45 am 1:45 pm Lecture 4 - TOPAS advanced capabilities, Part I (Joseph) 11:30 am 2:30 pm Example 4 - Double-scattering proton treatment head (Joseph) 12:15 am 3:15 pm Break 12:30 am 3:30 pm Example 5 - Extensions (Jose) 1:30 am 4:30 pm Example 6 - Proton patient dose, LET and RBE calculation using pre-made extensions (Jan) 2:15 am 5:15 pm Adjourn – Participants work on problems from example sessions Day 3 (Friday, September 18, 2020) José Ramos Méndez, chair TOPAS advanced capabilities and examples PT ET 9:00 am 12:00 pm Breakout session: Examples 4-6 10:00 am 1:00 pm Lecture 5 - Geant4 and TOPAS (Jan) 11:00 am 2:00 pm Lecture 6 - TOPAS advanced capabilities, Part II (Joseph) 11:30 am 2:30 pm Example 7 - Target tracking in a scanning proton beam (Joseph) 12:30 am 3:30 pm Break 12:45 am 3:45 pm Example 8 - Advanced extension: TOPAS-nBio (Aimee) 2:15 am 5:15 pm Adjourn |