Mission
In addition to guaranteeing the radioprotection and safety of the patient and the health care worker by limiting the risks from ionizing radiation, the physicists of the IOV ensure the dosimetric quality of radiation treatment. Through complex calculations and verification procedures, they ensure that the dose prescribed by the radiotherapist is delivered to the target volume safely, with precision and accuracy, limiting the dose to healthy tissues, for a better quality of life of the patient. For this purpose, the physicists have implemented complex and high-precision radiating techniques such as:
- Modulated Intensity Radiation Therapy (IMRT)
- Modulated Arc Volumetric Therapy (VMAT)
- Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
- Intra-operative radiotherapy (IORT).
Being aware of the importance of the quality of imaging in cancer diagnostic and predictive processes, IOV physicists perform frequent fundamental control tests to ensure high performance of the devices used by the Oncology Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Unit. Thanks to their expertise, they collaborate in the development of imaging protocols, in particular for CT and PET examinations, so as to optimize the image quality and reduce the dose to the patient.
IOV Health Physics team collaborates in research with various national and international centers and contributes to the training of physicists for emerging countries through collaboration with the ICTP center in Trieste.
