Mctp2009 Second European Workshop On Monte Carlo Treatment Planning

Invitation

On behalf of the Organising Committee and of the EWG-MCTP I am delighted to invite you to MCTP2009 Second European Workshop on Monte Carlo Treatment Planning to be held in Cardiff (UK) from October 19th-21st 2009. In October 2006 the “First European Workshop on Monte Carlo Treatment Planning”, was organized at the Gent University (Belgium) as an initiative of the European Working Group on Monte Carlo Treatment Planning (EWG-MCTP). The success of this and similar scientific events across the Atlantic reflects the continuously increasing interest in MCTP within the clinical environment. The introduction into clinical practice of more accurate algorithms for patient dose calculation is of paramount importance and algorithms based on the Monte Carlo method are widely regarded as the most accurate available in radiotherapy. MC techniques are also ideal research and development tools increasingly used in emerging areas including, among others, functional imaging, and molecular targeted radiotherapy. The number of publications reporting the use of MC in radiotherapy treatment planning (MCTP) has indeed increased exponentially in the last 25 years. The aim of MCTP2009 is to create a synergistic environment to maximize the integration of research, development and clinical implementation of MC technology in medical radiation physics devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Cardiff, capital city of Wales, is the youngest capital in Europe. It is internationally recognised as hosting one of Britain's foremost research-intensive universities, along with Wales‟ largest specialist Cancer Centre. Wales, with its 750 miles of coastline, 641 castles and 3 national parks is a remarkable venue for this event.

Workshop language English. Social events Welcome reception evening, workshop dinner and other entertainments are planned.

General information

The venue of MCTP2009 is the National Museum Wales, Cardiff (UK). Its art collection is one of Europe's finest, with paintings, drawings, sculptures, silvers and ceramics from Wales and across the world, dating back 500 years. It is regarded as holding one of Europe's best collections of Impressionist works. The art galleries will be open to participants during the welcome reception (Sunday 18th October) and workshop dinner (Tuesday 20th October).

Programme overview

MCTP2009 comprises of a programme scheduled over 2.5 days to include 10 scientific sessions for oral presentations and 2 poster sessions. In addition, one technical session has been included in the programme giving manufacturers the opportunity to present to delegates the latest technological developments. The workshop will focus on the application of MC technology in cancer diagnosis and treatment with the aim of highlighting recent developments, technical and clinical breakthroughs and emphasizing scientific innovations. Contributions to the workshop will be also published in the form of a book of proceedings. A detailed schedule will be published in a future announcement

Call for abstracts

The Organising Committee of MCTP2009 invites the submission of papers for consideration in the final programme.
The abstract submission deadline is set to 31st March 2009.

The five themes of MCTP2009 are: External beam radiotherapy Verification Imaging Sealed and unsealed sources Reference dosimetry Code and system developments.
For each theme, main sub-categories have been identified.

Publication agreement

A publication agreement is in place with Physics in Medicine and Biology. Papers from MCTP2009 will be considered for publication in PMB and published as a “special feature” of the journal. A “special feature” is a cluster of related papers, and would be distinguished (from other papers) by a heading in the table of contents and on the front of the journal. MCTP2009 papers submitted to Physics in Medicine and Biology will undergo full peer review according to the journal's usual standards and procedures.