ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S26

Invited Speaker

ESTRO 2024

Abstract:

Advancements in radiotherapy in recent decades has improved the ability to deliver dose to complex volumes whilst sparing healthy tissue. Developments in intensity-modulated radiation therapy and image guided radiotherapy has improved the accuracy and has minimised toxicity experienced from radiotherapy. Paediatric radiotherapy has benefited from such developments when there is significant effort to treat volumes conformally whilst reducing dose to organs at risk so that there is continued improvement in long-term control as well as minimising long-term toxicity. Techniques involving breath hold to minimise organ motion are common in adult practice. Using such techniques have reduced treatment margins as well as reduced doses to organs that are in close proximity to the treatment volumes. As the evidence in adult practice continues to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of such techniques, there is growing interest in the ability to be able to deliver this in a complex cohort of patients where there are their own challenges to consider. Surface guided Radiotherapy has also limited research in paediatric radiotherapy but has been demonstrated to improve daily set-up of adult patients and therefore reduced the number of verification imaging. Thus, reducing the concomitant dose which will improve the risks of secondary malignancies. Modern radiotherapy techniques such as surface guided radiotherapy and breath hold have great potential to improve the ability to deliver Radiotherapy and improve outcomes in paediatrics as demonstrated in the adult population. However, with such developments, there are a number of obstacles that need to be overcome to prove their feasibility in a cohort with unique set of needs and challenges. The RTT role plays a crucial part within the multidisciplinary team to ensure modern radiotherapy can be delivered safely and be of benefit to paediatric patients. This presentation will explore the use of breath hold techniques and surface guided radiotherapy and how these can benefit radiotherapy in children.

3315

Greening our hospitals: circular economy in healthcare & green skills for RTT – What we know?

Ana Luísa Soares 1 , José Guilherme Couto 2

1 Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto, Medical Physics Service, Porto, Portugal. 2 University of Malta, Radiography Department, Msida, Malta

Abstract:

Climate change is one of the major challenges of the 21st century, emerging as an urgent priority for public health to protect the global population from its impact. Additionally, the rationale for the mitigation efforts are the health risks associated to global warming (GW). In 2014, the European Union (EU) set a goal for GHG reduction between 2021 and 2030, aiming for at least a 40% internal reduction in GHG emissions across the economy by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. This goal represented the EU's first Nationally Determined Contribution for the 2030 horizon under the Paris Agreement, guiding the preparation of the Climate and Energy Framework 2030. One way to mitigate GHG emissions is a shift from the current linear economic model, based on the "take-make-use and dispose" principle, to a circular economy (CE). The CE enables a transition to a more balanced society among economic growth, environmental sustainability, and population well-being. In the CE, waste is used as resources and reduced by reintroduction into the system, aiming to maintain the value of resources in the economy for as long as