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: August 3, 2020, closing August 7, 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
Every time is given in both Pacific Time (San Francisco) and Eastern Time (Boston). So you will see two start times listed for each session as PT / ET. Each lecture includes time for questions. Each day will include some exercises for you to continue working on your own. Then for the first hour of days 2 and 3, we will have three separate zoom rooms where you can get help, one room for each of three exercises you were given the day before. So, while for each day there will be one main Zoom room, there will be additional zoom rooms for the first hour of days 2 and 3. 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 pm / 3:00 pm Break 12:15 pm / 3:15 pm Example 2 - Variance reduction for a generic x-ray linac (Jose) 1:15 pm / 4:15 pm Example 3 - Patient simulation: DICOM interface (Jungwook) 2:15 pm / 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 pm / 3:15 pm Break 12:30 pm / 3:30 pm Example 5 - Extensions (Jose) 1:30 pm / 4:30 pm Example 6 - Proton patient dose, LET and RBE calculation using pre-made extensions (Jan) 2:15 pm / 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 pm / 3:30 pm Break 12:45 pm / 3:45 pm Example 8 - Advanced extension: TOPAS-nBio (Aimee) 2:15 pm / 5:15 pm Adjourn |