WE‐AB‐213‐04: IAEA Support to Medical Physics in Africa and Latin America: Achievements and Challenges

• Published in: Medical physics (Lancaster) 2015-06, Vol.42 (6Part36), p.3648-3648
• Main Author: Meghzifene, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; Africa; BIOMEDICAL RADIOGRAPHY; BOTSWANA; CALIBRATION; COMMISSIONING; DOSIMETRY; ENGINEERS; GHANA; IAEA; LINEAR ACCELERATORS; Medical physicists; Medical radiation safety; Medical treatment planning; NEOPLASMS; NIGERIA; PERU; Physics education; PLANNING; QUALITY ASSURANCE; QUALITY CONTROL; RADIATION PROTECTION; RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY; RADIATION PROTECTION LAWS; Radiation therapy equipment; RADIOTHERAPY; RECOMMENDATIONS; SAFETY STANDARDS; SENEGAL; TRAINING; ZIMBABWE
• ISSN: 0094-2405; 2473-4209
• DOI: 10.1118/1.4925835

AAPM projects and collaborations in Africa Adam Shulman (AA‐SC Chair) The African Affairs Subcommittee (AA‐SC) of the AAPM will present a multi‐institutional approach to medical physics support in Africa. Current work to increase the quality of care and level of safety for the medical physics practice in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe will be presented, along with preliminary projects in Nigeria and Botswana. Because the task of addressing the needs of medical physics in countries across Africa is larger than one entity can accomplish on its own, the AA‐SC has taken the approach of joining forces with multiple organizations such as Radiating Hope and TreatSafely (NGO's), the IAEA, companies like BrainLab, Varian and Elekta, medical volunteers and academic institutions such as NYU and Washington University. Elements of current projects include: 1) Distance training and evaluation of the quality of contouring and treatment planning, teaching treatment planning and other subjects, and troubleshooting using modern telecommunications technology in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe; 2) Assistance in the transition from 2D to 3D in Senegal and Zimbabwe; 3) Assistance in the transition from 3D to IMRT using in‐house compensators in Senegal; 4) Modernizing the cancer center in Senegal and increasing safety and; 5) Training on on 3D techniques in Ghana; 6) Assisting a teaching and training radiation oncology center to be built in Zimbabwe; 7) Working with the ISEP Program in Sub‐Saharan Africa; 8) Creating instructional videos on linac commissioning; 9) Working on a possible collaboration to train physicists in Nigeria. Building on past achievements, the subcommittee seeks to make a larger impact on the continent, as the number and size of projects increases and more human resources become available. The State of Medical Physics Collaborations and Projects in Latin America Sandra Guzman (Peru) The lack of Medical Physicists (MP) in many Latin American (LA) countries leads to recruitment of professionals with incomplete education. In most LA countries only one MP responsible for each Center is currently mandated. Currently there is a large disparity among MP training programs and there is significant debate about the standards of MP graduate education in many LA countries. There are no commonly recognized academic programs, not enough clinical training sites and clinical training is not typically considered as part of the MP work. Economic pressures and high workloads also