To keep pace with the rapid development of medical imaging technology, which increasingly utilizes physical phenomena, efforts are needed to increase knowledge of medical imaging physics for practitioners and medical physicists. This is also necessary to enhance the role and capacity of medical physicists. For this reason, the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), through the Medical Physics and Biophysics Program (KBI), Department of Physics, held an international seminar titled “Imaging Physics Course 2018,” which opened on Thursday (October 4) in Building B, Room 101, FMIPA UI, Depok.
The event was opened by the Head of the Physics Department, FMIPA UI, Dr. rer. nat. Agus Salam, who represented Dr. rer. nat. Abdul Haris, the Dean of FMIPA UI, who was unable to attend.
In addition to serving as a platform for capacity building and scientific renewal, the event, which ran until Sunday (October 7), also served as a gathering place for medical physicists from Indonesia and neighboring countries. Present as a speaker was Dr. Gregorius Ben Prayogi, Sp. Rad. Onk (Radiology Department, RSCM/PORI), Dr. Kardinah, Sp.Rad (Dharmais Cancer Hospital/PDSRI), Prof. Dr. dr. A. Hussein K., Sp.KN. (UNPAD/PKNI), Dr. Sunarya Soerianata (PIKI), Dr. Choirul Anam (UNDIP), Ika Bayuadi, M.Si (LFMB UI), Lukmanda Evan Lubis, M.Si (Physics Department, FMIPA UI), Dr. Cheng Saw (USA), Prof. Dr. Tinsu Pan (USA), Dr. Frank Dong (USA), Douglas Pfeiffer, M.S. (USA), and Prof. Dr. Kwan Hoong Ng (Malaysia).
More than 180 participants attended, consisting of academics and students from UI and outside UI, medical physicists from hospitals, regulatory/government agencies (staff from the Ministry of Health and BAPETEN), and BATAN researchers.
Not only from Indonesia, but this activity was also attended by participants from Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Lukmanda Evan Lubis, M.Sc., Co-Director and one of the speakers, explained that this activity is an effort to update medical imaging physics for medical physicists not only in diagnostic/interventional radiology, but also in radiotherapy and nuclear medicine.
In his presentation, this faculty member from the Department of Physics delivered a presentation entitled “Dose and Image Quality Optimization in Interventional Radiology/Cardiology.” He explained interventional radiology and cardiology procedures, where the radiation dose to patients is generally quite high. However, he explained that this radiation provides diagnostic benefits, making limitations impossible. Therefore, the role of medical physicists is necessary to optimize these procedures by balancing radiation dose with image quality for diagnostic purposes.
The presentation also explained how medical physicists in hospitals can optimize medical imaging by first quantifying and measuring radiation dose and image quality using physical principles.
Supriyanto Ardjo Pawiro, Ph.D., the event director and Chairman of AFISMI (the Indonesian Alliance of Medical Physicists), hopes that the presence of experts sharing their experiences will have a positive impact on the advancement of medical physics in the future. He believes this event is part of the educational process to produce qualified medical physicists.
“This is important because professional medical physicists are needed to carry out these tasks, while of course paying attention to radiation protection factors for the safety of staff, patients, the public, and the environment,” he explained.
This event was held in collaboration with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), AFISMI, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the ASEAN College of Medical Physics (ACOMP), and was sponsored by PT. Medtek, PT. Quantum Inti Akurasi, CV. Aldi Cipta Perdana, and PT. Besindo.
