Student Conference Abstracts

Abstract

During their education, medical radiation science (MRS) students learn and develop capacity for effective patient care. As postgraduate MRS professionals gain experience, we learn to juggle the demands of providing high quality patient care in a complex technological environment. It is inevitable that, at some time during our careers, our personal experiences will intersect with our professional practice. Such intersections provide us with an opportunity to view our patient care from a changed perspective. In 2005, Clinton Heal was diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 22 years. Since that time, he has experienced care as a patient in surgery, radiation therapy, radiology, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. His experiences of receiving care have coincided with his work providing care as a radiographer and CT specialist. This intersection of perspectives as both provider and receiver of patient care, coupled with Clinton's determination and resilience, has seen him emerge as a leading advocate for melanoma awareness, information and support services. This presentation will challenge us to consider our own practice from the perspective of the people in our care, as well as the opportunity to assess where we as individuals sit on the reactive -proactive health spectrum. CyberKnife: an Australian experience Gemma WatersSir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Australia Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital was lucky enough to install Australia's first CyberKnife Machine in January 2014, with the first patient treated clinically at the start of April 2014. The CyberKnife is a unique Radiosurgical tool unlike any other machine in Australia. It has the ability to deliver ablative doses with sub millimetre accuracy to a range of areas throughout the body. CyberKnife has the ability to track moving tumours in real time, which is a real stand out feature for this amazing machine. The CyberKnife has been clinical for almost 3 years at SCGH. My presentation will aim to give a background of the CyberKnife and the different treatment capabilities and modalities experienced at SCGH. With the experience of treating over 800 patients, our team has had to be inventive and come up with some unique techniques in treating these patients. Interesting case studies will be presented, with a focus on the range of sites the CyberKnife can treat. Objective: To identify and justify current and potential uses of 3D-printed accessories for radiation therapy (RT), with consideration of costs, dosimetry, workflow and patient outcomes. This paper is an evaluation of current research and consideration of future applications. Method: A systematic review of literature published after January 1st 2011 has located papers from databases and non-traditional sources. The MeSH term "Printing, Three-Dimensional" was introduced in 2015 and papers before 2014 are scarce. In light of this we anticipate data collection will continue until shortly before final submission. Results: 3D-printed personalised bolus, brachytherapy templates and immobilisation devices emerged ...