IOMP School during Medical Physics World Congress

1. Radiation Safety & Protection

Lecture Objectives:

To answer the following questions:
1. Are we back to 1928, when ICRP was established to protect staff, patients, and the public?
2. What are the discrepancies in protection approaches between staff and patient protection?
Understand Core Principles – Explain the fundamental principles of radiation protection: Justification, Optimization (ALARA), and Dose Limitation.
Identify Sources & Hazards – Recognize different types of radiation sources in medical settings and their associated risks to patients, staff, and the public.
Apply Dose Optimization Strategies – Implement evidence-based methods to minimize unnecessary exposure without compromising diagnostic or therapeutic quality.
Interpret Regulatory Requirements – Understand key international and national regulations, IAEA and ICRP recommendations, and institutional safety policies.
Use Protective Measures Effectively – Select and apply shielding, personal protective equipment (PPE), and workplace design for optimal safety.
Develop a Safety Culture – Foster attitudes, training practices, and reporting systems that support a strong safety culture in medical radiation environments.

Speakers:

Prof. Madan Rehaniis a Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Radiation Protection Outreach Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. He is President of IUPESM (2022-2025) and was President of IOMP (2018- 2022). Earlier, he was a senior staff at the IAEA, Vienna, Austria for 11 years, and prior to that a Professor & Head of Medical Physics and Head of the WHO Collaborating Center on Imaging Technology and Radiation Protection in India. Dr. Rehani was a Member of the ICRP for 24 years. He is the author of 9 Annals of ICRP. He is the Senior Editor of British J Radiology and Assoc Editor of Eur J Medical Physics. He has more than 200 publications, has written 40 chapters in Books, and edited 5 books. He has numerous awards to his credit.

Prof. Arun Chougle is the Dean and Chief Academic Officer at Swasthya Kalyan Group of Institutes, Jaipur and Ex. Senior Professor and Head of Department of Radiological Physics, SMS Medical College, Ex. Pro Vice Chancellor, Rajasthan University of Health Sciences and Dean Faculty of Paramedical Science. He has 41 years of professional and teaching experience in medical physics. He has been in many significant positions and members of countless committees and organizations. He is Chair of education and training committee of IOMP, Chairman IOMP Accreditation Board. He is a member of the Board of Directors of IMPCB. Immediate past President of AFOMP and past President of AMPI. 180 publications in journals and 450 papers presentations, authored two books and edited 3 books. His research interests include radiation biology, experimental dosimetry in teletherapy, radiation safety and protection in radiology and radiotherapy, QA-QC in Radiology.

2. Spectral CT Physics (DECT and PCCT)

Lecture Objectives:

To learn about the underlying physics principles of spectral CT imaging regarding the image acquisition techniques in dual-energy CT (DECT) scanners and related spectral image calculation.
To learn about the typical clinical applicationsutilizing dual-energy CT data.
To learn about the underlying physics principles of photon counting CT (PCCT).
To understand the clinical prospects and emerging needs in modern PCCT imaging.

Speakers:

Prof. Ehsan Sameiis a Persian-American Medical Physicist. He is the Rice Distinguished Professor at Duke University, where he holds five departmental affiliations, serves as the chief imaging physicist, and directs two national research centers. His expertise includes clinical physics, quantitative imaging, and the relevant use of AI. His passion is to position medical physics and in silico methods to generate and accelerate patient-centric care, through innovative design and compassionate practice. He has authored over 400 refereed papers and four books, is a fellow of five professional societies, was the recipient of the 2022 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award by the International Organization of Medical Physics, and ranked 11th among over 56,000 medical physicists worldwide for his lifetime contribution to medical physics.

Dr. Mika Kortesniemiworks as the Chief Medical Physicist and Adjunct Professor at the HUS Diagnostic Center, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. His professional, teaching and research focus is on the quality assurance, radiation dosimetry, optimisation and radiation protection in x-ray imaging, especially related to the computed tomography and utilisation of artificial intelligence. Dr Kortesniemi is also actively involved in international collaboration e.g. with IAEA, ICRP, IOMP, EFOMP and ESR.

3. Fundamentals and Advances in Dosimetry (Radiation Therapy)

Lecture Objectives:

To introduce the underlying physics of radiation dose and its measurement.
To illustrate principles of dosimetry in the context of ionisation chambers.
To explore the physical differences and their impact on (dosimetric) signal generation in a few common detectors.
To highlight the importance of sound dosimetry for patient care.
Identify recent advances in detector technology that address challenges in small-field and high-dose-rate dosimetry.
Understand how modern treatment techniques have reshaped dosimetric requirements.
Appreciate how proton dosimetry fundamentally differs from photon and electron dosimetry (e.g., LET dependence, range verification).
Recognise the importance of neutron dosimetry in high-energy photon and particle therapy environments.
Discuss how automation, real-time QA, and in vivo dosimetry are shaping the future of patient safety and treatment efficiency.

Speakers:

Prof. Tomas Kron was born and educated in Germany. After his PhD he migrated to Australia in 1989 where he commenced his career in radiotherapy physics. He now is Director of Physical Sciences at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne leading a team of some 50 engineers and physicists. Prof Kron has an interest in education of medical physicists, dosimetry of ionising radiation, image guidance and clinical trials, which is demonstrated by more than 100 invited conference presentations and 350 papers in refereed journals.

Dr. Leyla Moghadasiis a Senior Clinical Medical Physicist at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, holding the dosimetry portfolio alongside broader clinical responsibilities. She completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide, developing a hybrid Monte Carlo–based radiobiological model for boron neutron capture therapy. Her expertise in Monte Carlo provides a deep understanding of particle interactions with matter, forming the foundation of her clinical work. Leveraging her programming skills and radiobiology knowledge, she maintains an active research profile in translational medicine and novel technologies, aiming to bridge physics and technology to improved patient outcomes.

4. MRI Linacs – Basics – MR Safety

Lecture Objectives:

Explain the fundamental principles of MRI-guided linear accelerators (MRI-Linacs).
Recognize the role of MRI-Linacs in the context of RT image guidance.
Identify key MRI safety considerations specific to MRI-Linacs.

Speakers:

Prof. Robert Jerajis a Professor of Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Professor of Physics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Dr. Jeraj’s main research interests are focused in treatment response assessment and treatment outcome predictions, often based on advanced molecular imaging biomarkers, with particular interest on metastatic disease. Dr. Jeraj is an author of over 190 published papers, text books and book chapters, and is a frequent invited lecturer and presenter on the use of molecular imaging in therapeutic interventions and general applications of medical physics in radiation and medical oncology. Among others duties, Dr. Jeraj currently serves as the Chair of the International Council within AAPM and is upcoming Chair of the Science committee within IOMP.

Dr. Ibrahim Duhaini is a Senior Medical Physicist at Varian Medical Systems. He has extensive experience in the field of medical physics and radiation safety. His previous roles include Clinical Medical Physicist at St. Mary Mercy Hospital (USA) and Oakwood Hospital (USA), Research Coordinator at Henry Ford Hospital (USA), Brachytherapy Consultant Physicist for Prostate Implant PROSEED (USA), and Director of Radiation Safety at Hamad Medical Corporation (Qatar). He has received multiple international awards, including Fellow Award from IUPESM (2025), Lebanese University Pioneer Award (2018), Presidential and Fellow Award from IOMP (2016 and 2017), and International Day of Medical Physics Award from IOMP (2015).

5. Image Quality Metrics

Lecture Objectives:

Students will be able to highlight why image quality is not just “pretty pictures,” but about supporting clinical decisions.
Explain the reasoning behind receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis.
Interpret an ROC curve and the area under the curve.

Speakers:

Kevin Hickson is the immediate Past President of the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) and has been a Board Director since 2018. Professionally he is the Head of Medical Physics and Radiation Safety for South Australia Medical Imaging. He also holds an adjunct appointment in Medical Radiations at the University of South Australia.

Prof. Ioannis Sechopoulusis the chair of the Advanced X-ray Tomographic Imaging lab at the Department of Medical Imaging of the Radboud University Medical Center, part-time Professor of Advanced X-ray Imaging Systems at the Multi-Modality Medical Imaging (M3i) group at the University of Twente, and Scientific Advisor of the Dutch Expert Center for Screening (LRCB). He performs research in various aspects of x-ray imaging, especially in breast imaging and computed tomography.

6. AI Basics

Lecture Objectives:

1. Understand the foundational principles of artificial intelligence and machine learning, including supervised, unsupervised, and deep learning approaches, and how they apply to data-driven clinical tasks such as image analysis and decision support.

2. Gain insight into the technical components of AI model development and evaluation, including feature extraction, model training, validation workflows, and performance metrics, with awareness of the challenges related to overfitting, interpretability, and clinical integration.

Speakers:

Prof. John Damilakis is a Professor and director of the Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, University of Crete and director of the Department of Medical Physics of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece. He holds the position of President within the ‘International Organization for Medical Physics’ (IOMP) and has previously held the position of President in organizations such as the EFOMP, the EURAMED, and the ‘Hellenic Association of Medical Physics’. Professor Damilakis also contributes to international initiatives, serving as an elected member of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Committee 3 and participating in the steering committee of the ‘EuroSafe Imaging Campaign’ organized by the European Society of Radiology.Professor Damilakis has published 276 research articles listed on PubMed, accompanied by 10711 citations, and an h-index of 55 as documentedon Google Scholar (July 2025). His contributions to the field have garnered him numerous awards and recognitions for his scientific achievements.

Chris Boyd is a senior medical physicist at South Australia Medical Imaging (SAMI), the northern Adelaide radiation safety officer, and the Magnetic Resonance Safety Expert for SA Health.An active member of the ACPSEM, he participates in registrar and MRSE certifications as an examiner, and sits on several committees on AI and MR Safety. He is currently in the late stages of a PhD in AI neurovascular quantitation at the University of South Australia, and a technical editor for the update of the key IAEA educational resource ‘Diagnostic Radiology Physics: A Handbook for Teacher’s and Students’.

7. Biostatistics – Method Comparison Studies

Lecture Objectives:

Understand and apply key statistical methods for assessing agreement and bias between two measurement methods in clinical studies.
Recognize the differences between correlation, agreement, and clinical acceptability when evaluating method comparison studies.

Speakers:

Prof. Adrian Esterman is Chair of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of South Australia, a position he has held for 20 years. His career includes 7 years as a staff member of WHO based in Geneva and Copenhagen. With a prolific research career spanning over four decades, Professor Esterman is recognized for his expertise in epidemiology, statistical methods, and public health research. He has authored over 400 publications and has an h-index of 78. Professor Esterman is also a passionate educator and media commentator, dedicated to translating complex statistical concepts into practical tools for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers.

8. Theranostics Basics – Radiopharmaceuticals

Lecture Objectives:

Describe the principles of theranostics, including the radiobiological basis of therapeutic radionuclides.
Discuss clinical applications of theranostics.
Perform MIRD-based dosimetry for radiopharmaceutical therapy.

Speakers:

Dr. Ashleigh Hull is a Lecturer in Nuclear Medicine at the University of South Australia and a registered nuclear medicine technologist. She completed both her undergraduate and PhD at UniSA and has clinical experience as a technologist. Her PhD focused on the pre-clinical development of novel radioimmunoconjugates for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. In combination with her research, Ashleigh has experience as a clinical nuclear medicine technologist, enabling her to observe the full translational pathway from bench to bedside in nuclear medicine and theranostics.

A/Prof. Robert Hobbsis an Associate Professor and Medical Physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Hobbs earned his undergraduate degrees in physics from the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France and his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in high energy physics. Dr. Hobbs is the chairman of the AAPM Radiopharmaceutical Therapy sub-Committee, and serves on a number of committees and task groups that further the development, use, and education of radiopharmaceutical therapy and dosimetry for a wide range of national and international organizations. Most recently he has been awarded the 2025 MIRD Loevinger-Berman award.

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