Medical Physics
Message From the Division ChairJeffrey F. Williamson, Ph.D., FAAPM, FACRMission
The mission of the Medical Physics Section is to promote high quality radiation therapy and well-being of our patients through high-quality clinical service, investigation and
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implementation of improved treatment planning and delivery technologies, and research programs intended to improve the efficiency and efficacy of radiation therapy. In addition, we seek to improve cancer care throughout the Richmond community, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation by maintaining high quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.
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Faculty and Clinical Programs
Our Division is staffed by 14 faculty physicists, 10 dosimetrists, an engineering and computer support group, as well as physics residents, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows. We are proud to provide our patients cutting-edge, innovative programs in intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), brachytherapy, gated radiotherapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery.
We are especially proud of our new Trilogy image-guided Therapy Center and Image-guided Brachytherapy Suite. The state-of-the-art Trilogy machine uses on-board imaging to verify the position and anatomy of the patient in treatment position, allowing more precise targeting of the radiation. Our Image-Guided Brachytherapy Suite, opened in August 2006, doubles our capacity to perform brachytherapy procedures and is equipped with a procedure room able to support general anesthesia and intra-operative imaging.
In addition to advanced technology therapy, we work closely with our clinical colleagues to assess the clinical efficacy of these modalities through participation and development of protocols at the local, regional and national levels.
Educational Programs and Research
The sections medical physics research program is among the most competitive and best funded in the country. Active research areas include IMRT optimization and delivery, dose computation using Monte Carlo algorithms, brachytherapy dosimetry, CT physics and image-guided therapies. Our program is highly interdisciplinary, bringing the research skills and insights of biomedical, nuclear, and electrical engineers, computer scientists, molecular biologists, radiation oncologists, and imaging physicists to bear on radiation oncology problems. A major initiative is development of an NIH-sponsored Program Project Grant in Image-guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy. Our program is highly translational and closely integrated with our clinical programs, so that patients can benefit from our research successes well in advance of commercial implementation. We also support a comprehensive educational program, including a Ph.D. program in Medical Physics (expanded in 2006 to include an M.S. degree) and a post-graduate residency program in radiation oncology physics.
Jeffrey F. Williamson, Ph.D., FAAPM, FACR
