Faculty members Junzo Chino, MD, and Julie Raffi, PhD, represented Duke Radiation Oncology at the American Brachytherapy Society's School of Gynecologic Brachytherapy on February 8-10 in Frisco, Texas. The workshop provided hands-on experience for brachytherapists, nurses and physicists.
Dr. Chino served as co-chair of the meeting along with previous Duke faculty member Gita Suneja, MD, MS. Dr. Chino spoke about international efforts for gynecologic radiation oncology; Dr. Raffi presented physics sessions on planning intracavitary and hybrid implants as well as training and support for international brachytherapy.
As part of the workshop, Drs. Chino and Raffi helped oversee a novel hands-on brachytherapy simulation with Duke-made ultrasound phantoms. The phantoms were initially developed for a needle-tracking project led by Diandra Ayala-Peacock, MD; the four extra phantoms used in the workshop were constructed by Duke Medical Physics Graduate Program students Lindsey Bloom and Ryan Sanford, who are advised by faculty member Oana Craciunescu, PhD and co-mentored by Drs. Craciunescu and Raffi.
Resident Christina Huang, MD, MS, also attended the workshop. "Going to the American Brachytherapy Society GYN School was an amazing opportunity. I was lucky to be sponsored by Dr. Chino, and I learned so much about different GYN brachytherapy practice patterns around the country," said Dr. Huang. "The GYN brachytherapy community is incredibly welcoming, and this experience definitely made me excited about becoming a brachytherapist."