Ultrasound Safety This week we're participating in a selection of imaging with non-ionising radiation workshops. One focus is ultrasound safety. Measuring power outputs, performing QC and understanding the clinical requirements of ultrasound vs patient safety. 2 indices are used to describe ultrasound safety: Thermal Index Thermal indices describe the potential for tissue temperature increasing during … Continue reading Ultrasonic Cavitation
Classic trainee panic in Nuc Med
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I'm contaminated, oh my goodness how did this happen!?!?! I was only dealing with non-active waste why is my right hand so radioactive!?!?Me, 2019. Spoiler alert- if a patient having a stress/rest myocardial perfusion scan and then comes over to ask you a question whilst you're monitoring yourself on a hand and foot monitor, … Continue reading Classic trainee panic in Nuc Med
Radiotherapy Patient Pathway
Having spent 3 months in the radiotherapy physics department, I finally got the opportunity today to spend some time with the radiographers, scanning, planning and treating patients. This blog post will hopefully illustrate my understanding of the pathway that patients go through for their radiotherapy treatment as well as some reflections I have had over … Continue reading Radiotherapy Patient Pathway
TCP & NTCP
Radiotherapy has a lot of abbreviations and today I've had to relearn some of the most annoying of them all: TCP= Tumour Control Probability NTCP= Normal Tissue Complication Probability For a good radiotherapy treatment we want TCP>= 0.5 and NTCP <=0.05 A/N: WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ABBREVIATIONS WHICH ARE ALWAYS USED TOGETHER AND HAVE … Continue reading TCP & NTCP
ART*- less of an art, more of a science.
*(Adaptive Radiotherapy) People are the worst, right? Humans have their own internal biases, their own ways of doing things, their own subjectivity and their own distractions. So why don't we just automate all treatment planning? This was certainly the attitude that I took at before beginning this placement in radiotherapy. It turns out that it's … Continue reading ART*- less of an art, more of a science.
What even is an x-ray?
I've always been taught the electromagnetic spectrum goes (in song form)... Radiowaves, Microwaves, Infrared... Radiation, Visible light, Ultraviolet, X-rays, Gamma rays. The assumption being that the higher the note sung (the later in the song), the higher the energy, the shorter the wavelength u.s.w. Therefore why are we calling my LINAC friends x-ray units?! Their … Continue reading What even is an x-ray?
Electronic spirit levels
I'm more than happy with how an "analogue" spirit level works. A cylinder with a slight upward curve in the middle (or a larger diameter in the middle) is incompletely filled with a spirit. This leaves a bubble which travels to the centre of the cylinder when on a flat surface. When on a slight … Continue reading Electronic spirit levels
Patients come first!
Today we're scheduled to spend a whole day on radiotherapy machine quality assurance (QA), performing the monthly checks on a particular machine to ensure that we are operating within the approved procedures with which we're allowed to carry out radiotherapy. These checks include mechanical checks of the couch positioning and isocentres (laser, mechanical, radiation), dosimetric … Continue reading Patients come first!
Mice don’t menstruate!?
Attended a radioactive substances lab audit today where the professor expressed an interest in renewing the license for using animals as part of the research and mentioned that the application for the license would involve at least 3 weeks of full time work. ASPA 1986 It turns out that there is not a special radioactive … Continue reading Mice don’t menstruate!?
Cheeky London skyline view
It's a tough life testing dental x-rays on the 25th floor! Who needs the Shard's viewing platform? 😉
"You're obviously not a scientist" 