OMA School on Medical Accelerators at CNAO, Italy
The first scientific school of the Optimization of Medical Accelerators Project (OMA) coordinated by the University of Liverpool took place at CNAO in Pavia, Italy between 4th and 9th June, gathering 75 delegates from across Europe. The event brought together researchers working at interface between physics and life sciences. Lectures given by renowned scientists covered such areas as beam physics and diagnostics, accelerators technologies, medical applications of accelerators and treatment processes. The school also featured a tour of CNAO facilities, a poster session and a dedicated industry session.
OMA School on Medical Accelerators is part of an international training programme delivered within the OMA project. The Optimization of Medical Accelerators is the aim of this European Training Network. The project joins universities, research centres and hadrontherapy facilities with industry partners to address the challenges in treatment facility design and optimization, numerical simulations for the development of advanced treatment schemes, and in beam imaging and treatment monitoring. The network consists of an international consortium of more than 35 partner organisations and provides a wide ranging training programme comprising schools and workshops.
The University of Liverpool Physics Department is active in medical physics research and collaborations looking into cancer therapy also beyond the network, including links to the new proton therapy centre in Liverpool and a collaborative research project on a 3D Water Phantom.