Medical Physics During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Global Perspectives in Clinical Practice, Education and Research

Kwan Hoong Ng, Magdalena S. Stoeva

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367693756
• eBook ISBN: 9781000405941
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Emergency Medicine & Critical Care
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Spreading to every corner of the Earth, the COVID-19 virus has had an unparalleled impact on all aspects of our lives. This book explores in detail how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected clinical practice, education, and research in medical physics, and how colleagues on the frontline dealt with this unpredictable and unprecedented pandemic. It tackles key questions such as: How did medical physicists first respond to the situation? What innovative strategies were taken and how effective were they? How are medical physicists preparing for the future?

There will be a focus on the different experiences of regional medical physicists and the responses and outlooks in clinical practice, education, and research in the affected continents, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North and Latin America. With over 91 contributors from 39 countries, this unique resource contains key perspectives from teams from each territory to ensure a global range of accounts.

The collective opinion and wisdom from the major medical physics journal editors-in-chief are also explored, alongside how the pandemic has affected the quantity and quality of publications. Voices of early-career researchers and students of medical physics will be included, with narratives of their experiences coping with life during the pandemic. Lastly, communicating leadership in times of adversity is highlighted.

This book will be a historic account of the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the field of medical physics. It will be an ideal reference for medical physicists, medical physics trainees and students, hospital administrators, regulators, and healthcare professionals allied with medical physics.

Key features:

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• The first book to cover the impact of COVID-19 on the field of medical physics

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• Edited by two experts in the field, with chapter contributions from subject area specialists around the world

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• Broad, global coverage, ranging from the impact on teaching, research, and publishing, with unique perspectives from journal editors and students and trainees

1
Consolidating Wisdom from Diverse Talents

Kwan Hoong Ng¹ and Magdalena Stoeva²

1 Department of Biomedical Imaging, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2 Department of Radiology, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

1.1 THE UNIQUE PERIOD WE LIVE IN

“We are at a critical point in the global response to COVID-19 — we need everyone to get involved in this massive effort to keep the world safe.”

World Health Organization director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

A year after the COVID-19 outbreak was first reported in China, the death toll has surpassed 1.5 million people, and economies all over the world have been left in tatters. Daily life has been altered radically, giving birth to what is known as “the New Norm.” New solitary practices, such as mask-wearing, physical distancing, and other contact limits have contributed to anxiety and depression. Many are unable to fully show concern for loved ones at risk, especially those infected by the disease.

Within a short period, COVID-19 has laid bare the limits and weaknesses of our health systems. Despite attempts to “flatten the curve,” nations still experience waves of infection, frustrating society at every level. Coinciding with political instabilities in some countries, the high number of deaths, lock-downs, and other restrictions imposed by authorities have sparked riots and protests, threatening to exacerbate the spread of the virus.

The infodemic deluge from all kinds of sources has also sparked fear and deep distrust of science (1,2). Amplified mainly through the “echo chambers” of social media, numerous conspiracy theories have come to fill the voids of trust toward authorities. These theories decisively explain where the virus originates, how some businesses spread the virus to make substantial profit gains, and how vaccines create dangerous debilitating side effects.

It is within this environment that this book was conceived. We aim to chronicle the experiences and responses of medical physics professionals globally by reflecting on solidarity in geographical diversity, professional practice, education, and research to produce the best outcome in this global crisis. The book also highlights the importance of crisis communication in handling an unexpected incident and building trust among people. We hope our readers will find some wisdom in the experience of others and find ways to practice it in their professional settings.

1.2 CHRONICLING EXPERIENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF MEDICAL PHYSICISTS

How have our medical physics colleagues across the world been responding to the pandemic? How has the profession been contributing in terms of clinical practice, education, and research?

These are some questions that enabled us to learn how our colleagues—radiation oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, radiographers, and technologists—have used their analytical and problem-solving skills to be part of the solution. Although medical physicists are not frontline providers like doctors and nurses, many have nonetheless volunteered to be one.

In this book, we begin by describing the core functions of clinical practice in radiation oncology, nuclear medicine, and radiology, and the role that medical physics plays in research and education. The medical physics international landscape is another key aspect covered by this book, with the International Organisation for Medical Physics (IOMP) setting the scene, followed by six regional chapters from the Asia-Pacific region, Middle East, Europe, Africa, North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The regional chapters reveal tremendous diversity in practices and innovations by our colleagues, all with the same goal of conquering the pandemic. The book chapters offer profound insights of respected leaders and early-career medical physicists.

We invited six major medical physics journal editors-in-chief to write a joint chapter, sharing their perspectives on how the pandemic has affected research and publications, and how we, as the scientific community, can contribute meaningfully. The Medical Physics for World Benefit organization highlights its activities and plans in a separate chapter, and the experiences and perspectives of early career medical physicists in the Medical Physics: Leadership & Mentoring program are described in a different chapter.

Given that leadership plays a vital role in how we navigate through times of adversity, this book also offers leadership wisdom and strategies that leaders can use to lead their teams to safety and prosperity.

1.3 THE BRAVE NEW WORLD

In the dystopian novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley wrote, “We are not our own any more than what we possess is our own. We did not make ourselves, we cannot be supreme over ourselves. We are not our own masters.”

What will the world be like post-COVID-19? How will we practice, educate, and conduct research post-COVID 19? All of us want answers to these queries. The medical physicist community is adaptable, innovative, and creative. If everybody plays their role, we can eagerly look forward to the end of the pandemic. We are optimistic that humanity will learn to become more responsible and caring stewards of our planet earth.

This pandemic has had an enormous effect on collaborative, adaptive, and rapid research, highlighted important findings and scientific ideas, and increased public interest in scientific research. If we continue to work together to strengthen research and trust in science, with the ultimate goal of using them for the betterment of lives, then this will lead to a positive side effect in the pandemic.

REFERENCES

• 1. Kwan Hoong Ng and Ray Kemp. Understanding and reducing the fear of COVID-19. Journal of Zhejiang University. Science B, https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B2000228.
• 2. Cuan-Baltazar, Jose Yunam; Muñoz-Perez, Maria José; Robledo-Vega, Carolina; Pérez-Zepeda, Maria Fernanda; and Soto-Vega, Elena. Misinformation of COVID-19 on the Internet: Infodemiology Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill; 6(2): e18444, 2020 04 09.

2
Medical Physics Services in Radiation Oncology

Pandemic Trials and Tribulations

Tomas Kron,¹,² Richard Dove,³ Matthew Sobolewski,⁴,⁵ Swamidas V. Jamema,⁶ Mulape M. Kanduza,⁷ and May Whitaker⁸

1 Department of Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia

2 Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

3 Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand

4 Riverina Cancer Care Centre, Wagga Wagga, Australia

5 Northern Beaches Cancer Care, Sydney, Australia

6 Department of Medical Physics & Radiation Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, India

7 Cancer Diseases Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia

8 Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, Australia

2.1 INTRODUCTION

As “liaisons” between patients and technology, medical physicists play an essential role in radiation oncology as the conduit between patients and technology. Compared to other professionals in cancer treatment, medical physicists are typically a small but highly skilled group. This places a burden on their inherent resilience to significant disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic, because a number of mitigation strategies simply cannot be applied. In addition to this, medical physicists are highly trained and specialized individuals who often work alone, leaving the organization vulnerable due to lack of redundancy.

While it may be possible to operate a radiotherapy service without a physicist for a limited period of time, quite quickly, this lack of support can significantly affect the safety and quality of the treatment program. Compounding the shortfall is the difficulty in hiring suitable staff quickly and training them sufficiently to be useful in the particular clinic circumstances.

Consideration of these factors, together with an understanding of the local workforce and its contributions to radiotherapy services is important, and long-term planning and building of resilience essential. The present chapter aims to first explore the role of medical physicists in a “typical” radiation oncology setting. This exploration is used to build a business continuation plan based on the possible impact of a pandemic. The chapter ends by considering the transition back to a new normality based on the experience, which is informed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

2.2 THE ROLE OF MEDICAL PHYSICISTS IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY

Medical physicists have some core responsibilities in radiation oncology, such as radiation safety, machine calibration, dosimetry, and involvement in treatment planning (1). The International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) has developed a policy outlining the roles of medical physicists (https://www.iomp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/iomp_policy_statement_no_1_0.pdf) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has defined both roles and training requirements for radiation oncology medical physicists (ROMPs) (1, 2). However, due to regulatory and financial environments, there is a wide variation in physicists’ involvement in other tasks, such as brachytherapy, project management, teaching, and research (3). These variations in practice make it difficult to develop a simple model for medical physicists.

Consider radiotherapy treatment planning, in which the practice, oversight, or checking is the most visible and time-consuming activity for ROMPs in many countries (4). Treatment planning is mostly computer based and ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Author Biography
• 1 Consolidating Wisdom from Diverse Talents in Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• 2 Medical Physics Services in Radiation Oncology: Pandemic Trials and Tribulations
• 3 Adjustments to Nuclear Medicine Physics Services in Response to the Pandemic
• 4 Adapting in a Crisis: Radiology Medical Physics Service Provision during a Pandemic
• 5 Education and Training during COVID-19 Pandemics: Lessons Learned and the Way Forward
• 6 Role of Medical Physicists in Scientific Research during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Switching to the “New Normal”
• 7 IOMP’s Global Perspectives for Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• 8 Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Perspectives—Asia-Pacific
• 9 Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Perspectives—Middle East
• 10 Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Perspectives—Europe
• 11 Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Perspectives—Africa
• 12 Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Perspectives—North America
• 13 Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Perspectives—Latin America and the Caribbeans
• 14 Medical Physics Journals during the Time of COVID-19: The Editor’s Experience (February–October 2020)
• 15 The Response of Medical Physics for World Benefit to the COVID-19 Crisis
• 16 Early Career Medical Physics Experience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience and Perspectives from a Medical Physics Leadership and Mentoring Program
• 17 Communicating Leadership in Adversity
• Index