MEDIA RELEASE PR35961
Varian Medical Systems and the Chinese Society of Medical Physics Sponsor an Education Program in
Medical Dosimetry for Chinese Students
BEIJING, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Two-year Stanford University online training program will improve the
dosimetry skills of medical physicists from cancer treatment
centers across China
The Chinese Society of Medical Physics (CSMP), with support from Varian
Medical Systems, has launched a program to provide selected Chinese medical
physics students with access to web-based medical dosimetry training offered
by Stanford University. The two-year Stanford University Dosimetry Training
Tool (DTT) is an online computer-aided distance learning program.
The CSMP will administer the program in China, and provide the students
with access to the learning program and to mentors who will monitor the
students' progress as they work through the 500-600 hours' worth of online
course materials. Varian Medical Systems, the world's leading provider of
radiation therapy equipment and software, is providing funds for the
enrollment fees. In addition, Varian will sponsor practical hands-on training
sessions to be led by leading physicists from around the world in the
company's new Beijing Education Center.
"The purpose of this educational program is to improve students' medical
physics training so they can better apply their skills to help treat cancer
patients with advanced forms of radiation therapy," said Ling Zhang, Varian's
marketing manager in Beijing, where the company also operates a manufacturing
facility. "Although there are 1200 medical physicists in China, many of them
may benefit from additional medical physics training. With this project, the
CSMP is taking a big step toward systematically improving the dosimetry
skills of medical physicists across China."
Medical dosimetry is a specialized set of skills that are central to the
radiation oncology treatment process," says Arthur Boyer, PhD, a renowned
medical physicist who was instrumental in developing the Stanford University
Dosimetry Training Tool. "In the United States, medical dosimetrists work
alongside doctors and medical physicists, and use sophisticated computer
programs to process data from diagnostic imaging scans (X-ray, CT, MRI, PET)
and design customized treatment plans for maximizing the radiation dose
delivered to the tumor while minimizing exposure of the surrounding healthy
tissues."
According to Prof. Yimin Hu, Chairman of the CSMP, training programs in
medical physics are still being developed in China, so there are only a
limited number of well-trained, professional medical physicists available.
"This has the potential to negatively impact the safety and quality of
radiation therapy treatments, and may also slow the adoption of advanced
treatment techniques," he says. "Varian is cooperating with CSMP to bring
Stanford's web-based dosimetry training program to young Chinese physicists.
It's the right move at the right time, and absolutely will improve matters
for the entire Chinese medical physics community."
"The program will enroll physicist candidates from every province in
China, plus fifteen graduate students from the leading teaching universities
in China," said Thomas Duffy, marketing and business development director for
Varian Medical Systems Beijing Co. Ltd. "The CSMP has chosen the first group
of students from a field of over 200 who participated in a trial program last
year."
The first of the Varian-sponsored hands-on workshops for students in the
program, scheduled for July 30-August 1, 2009, was taught by two
distinguished medical physics scholars and clinicians from the United States:
Fang-Fang Yin, PhD, professor and chief of medical physics at Duke University
and Joseph Ting, PhD, chief medical physicist at the MIMA Cancer Center in
Melbourne Florida.
"In recent years, scientific advances in the field of radiation therapy
have included: developments in three-dimensional imaging, the increased use
of computers in treatment planning, and the use of sophisticated beam shaping
and image-guidance technologies that enhance tumor targeting during
treatment. These developments have increased the need for qualified medical
dosimetry professionals around the world," Zhang says. "Varian is pleased to
be working with the CSMP in China, to provide sponsorship for this important
educational program."
ABOUT VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's
leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and
other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and
brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing
comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology
practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for
X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also
supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial
inspection. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 5,100 people who are
located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and
approximately 79 sales and support offices around the world. For more
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ling Zhang, M.D. Meryl Ginsberg
Varian Medical Systems, China Varian Medical Systems, U.S.
Tel: +86-10-8785 8800 Tel: +1-650-424-6444
ling.zhang@varian.com meryl.ginsberg@varian.com
SOURCE: Varian Medical Systems
CONTACT: Ling Zhang, M.D. of Varian Medical Systems, China,
+86-10-8785 8800,
ling.zhang@varian.com; or
Meryl Ginsberg of Varian Medical Systems, U.S.,
+1-650-424-6444,
meryl.ginsberg@varian.com
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