Expert Training in Proton Therapy for the Radiation Oncology Community.
As an international leader in proton therapy treatment, research, and education, the New York Proton Center (NYPC) is uniquely positioned to offer virtual and in-person training led by our experienced clinical teams. Since opening in 2019, we have trained teams from over two dozen newly opened proton centers.
The New York Proton Center is a founding member of Proton Therapy Academy network, a group of leading cancer treatment institutions from the United States, Europe, and Asia focused on proton therapy education and training.
Training is available for physicians, medical physicists, medical dosimetrists, and radiation therapists and includes Proton Therapy Schools as well as clinical observerships for physicians, physicists, and dosimetrists for practices planning to implement a proton therapy program. Training will address proton therapy treatment for specific disease sites, best practices, physics commissioning, safety, quality assurance, treatment planning, and operational challenges.
Learn From the New York Proton Center
Explore our training offerings:
Physician Proton Therapy School
Audience: Radiation Oncologists. Medical Physicists and Medical Dosimetrists are welcome to attend. No proton experience is required. Working knowledge of either Eclipse or RayStation treatment planning system.
Course Description: This program is a blended approach with full days of lectures and open discussions including, but not limited to, presentations on introduction to pencil beam scanning proton therapy (PBS-PT), radiobiological and physics considerations, robust optimization/planning, and proton plan evaluation from a physician perspective. In addition, there will be intermixed half day sessions that include presentations on the clinical evidence for proton therapy, and dedicated treatment planning sessions across all specific disease sites. This course can be delivered in a virtual environment and/or in person in conjunction with on-site physician observership training. Course Length is typically 2 weeks.
Proton Physics Commissioning School
Audience: Medical Physicists. No proton experience is required
Course Description: This course is the only dedicated physics commissioning course of its kind across all major proton therapy system vendors. It is a program tailored towards clinical staff responsible for system commissioning that have not yet implemented the use of Proton Therapy in their practice. It is delivered in a hybrid approach with lectures, videos and open discussion focusing on introduction to ProBeam Proton Therapy, Machine Performance and QA, CT Calibration and Verification, Commissioning and Machine Calibration, and TPS Modeling including Monte Carlo. This course can be delivered in a virtual and/or on-site environment and is meant to be tailored to address each individual institutional’s needs. Course Length is typically 1 week.
Physics Proton Therapy School
Audience: Medical Physicists. Medical Dosimetrists and Radiation Oncologists are welcome to attend. No proton experience is required. Working knowledge of either Eclipse or RayStation treatment planning system.
Course Description: This program is a blended approach with full days of lectures and open discussions including, but not limited to, presentations on introduction to pencil beam scanning proton therapy (PBS-PT), basic physics of proton therapy, proton specific simulation and immobilization considerations, introduction to proton therapy treatment planning and delivery, physics workflows/chart preparations, patient specific QA and 2nd MU check, IGRT, treatment evaluation and adaptive planning, proton therapy uncertainties and mitigation strategies, radiation safety, and building a proton SBRT program. This course can be delivered in a virtual environment and/or in person in conjunction with on-site physics observership training. Course Length is typically 2 weeks.
Proton Dosimetry School
Audience: Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists and Medical Dosimetrists. No proton experience is required. Working knowledge of either Eclipse or RayStation treatment planning system is required.
Course Description: This program is a blended approach with lectures on proton treatment planning considerations, followed by in depth hands-on planning sessions across all disease sites with a focus on contouring of planning structures, beam angle selection, robust optimization (SFO/MFO), target coverage vs. organs at risk constraints, plan evaluation. This course can be delivered in a virtual and/or on-site environment. Course Length is typically 2 weeks.
Proton Dosimetry Certification Program
Audience: Medical Dosimetrists and Medical Physicists. No proton experience is required. Working knowledge of either Eclipse or RayStation treatment planning system.
Course Description: 4-week intensive dosimetry program and certification course; week 1 is didactic across all disease sites and all aspects of treatment planning on either Eclipse or RayStation, weeks 2-4 are hands on focusing on all disease sites. This course is typically delivered on-site.
Proton Moving Tumor School
Audience: Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists and Medical Dosimetrists.
Course Description: Only dedicated course available to date by any institution discussing optimal motion management and proton delivery for moving targets (thoracic as well as abdomino-pelvic). Delivered as a combination of lecture and hands-on training. This course is delivered on-site. Course Length is typically 1 week
New York Proton Center Observation Training
Audience: Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists and Radiation Therapists.
Course Description: On-site observations are available at the New York Proton Center for Physicians, Physicists, and Therapists for direct hands-on learning. Observations can range from 1 week to up to 6 weeks.
New York Proton Center Site Visits
Course Description: New York Proton Center Site Visits are designed to help familiarize prospective and new proton therapy customers with current uses and developing trends in proton therapy, as well as discuss important considerations during commissioning, early operations, and when developing clinical workflows.
Learn From Trusted Clinical Teams
Contact us to see how the training syllabus can be customized to the needs of your team and discuss proton therapy training with the New York Proton Center.
