Pratik Samant
@samantp.bsky.social
He/Him | NHS Radiotherapy Physicist | I occasionally post cancer/physics facts | Views my own | 🇨🇦 in 🇬🇧
https://www.oncology.ox.ac.uk/team/pratik-samant
https://www.oncology.ox.ac.uk/team/pratik-samant
🧪Cancer fact of the day: modern radiotherapy is less like a blunt instrument, and more like a precision strike. For example, stereotactic radiosurgery can treat tumours as small as 0.7-1cm in diameter (about as large as a grain of rice), while having the dose reduce by 20 fold just 1.5cm away!
November 27, 2024 at 9:26 AM
🧪Cancer fact of the day: modern radiotherapy is less like a blunt instrument, and more like a precision strike. For example, stereotactic radiosurgery can treat tumours as small as 0.7-1cm in diameter (about as large as a grain of rice), while having the dose reduce by 20 fold just 1.5cm away!
That is unfortunately the case with most/all cancer therapy. Modern RT takes very deliberate steps to minimize the damage to healthy tissue (e.g. modern machines can sculpt the dose in 3D).
It is used in more than 50% of cancer patients and has been a major factor in doubling UK cancer survival.
It is used in more than 50% of cancer patients and has been a major factor in doubling UK cancer survival.
November 26, 2024 at 10:39 AM
That is unfortunately the case with most/all cancer therapy. Modern RT takes very deliberate steps to minimize the damage to healthy tissue (e.g. modern machines can sculpt the dose in 3D).
It is used in more than 50% of cancer patients and has been a major factor in doubling UK cancer survival.
It is used in more than 50% of cancer patients and has been a major factor in doubling UK cancer survival.
🧪Cancer fact of the day: physicists and engineers are essential to modern medicine, and enable the use of just about every imaging/treatment device in cancer radiotherapy.
However, as we're usually behind the scenes, patients (and even colleagues) sometimes don't know we exist 😅!
However, as we're usually behind the scenes, patients (and even colleagues) sometimes don't know we exist 😅!
November 18, 2024 at 1:31 PM
🧪Cancer fact of the day: physicists and engineers are essential to modern medicine, and enable the use of just about every imaging/treatment device in cancer radiotherapy.
However, as we're usually behind the scenes, patients (and even colleagues) sometimes don't know we exist 😅!
However, as we're usually behind the scenes, patients (and even colleagues) sometimes don't know we exist 😅!
Bluesky tip, let's say that for whatever reason you wanted to block this list of users, you first need to go to the list and click SUBSCRIBE, which then unlocks the button to block all. Took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out. This is how bluesky can stay pure.
November 14, 2024 at 11:19 PM
Bluesky tip, let's say that for whatever reason you wanted to block this list of users, you first need to go to the list and click SUBSCRIBE, which then unlocks the button to block all. Took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out. This is how bluesky can stay pure.
With the caveat that I am a physicist, I think the NHS is much fixable, and it comes down to funding. There has been chronic underinvestment since the tories took power, and now we are facing collapse of basic infrastructure. That can be rebuilt (albeit slowly), and Labour did it in the noughties.
February 12, 2024 at 9:26 AM
With the caveat that I am a physicist, I think the NHS is much fixable, and it comes down to funding. There has been chronic underinvestment since the tories took power, and now we are facing collapse of basic infrastructure. That can be rebuilt (albeit slowly), and Labour did it in the noughties.
When we start regularly producing bangers like this, twitter will come toppling down like a house of cards
November 21, 2023 at 9:38 PM
When we start regularly producing bangers like this, twitter will come toppling down like a house of cards
Are mathematicians ok? 🧪
arxiv.org/pdf/2106.11285
arxiv.org/pdf/2106.11285
November 21, 2023 at 6:57 PM
Are mathematicians ok? 🧪
arxiv.org/pdf/2106.11285
arxiv.org/pdf/2106.11285
Happy international day of medical physics to all who celebrate! How far we have come 🙂 🧪
November 7, 2023 at 5:56 PM
Happy international day of medical physics to all who celebrate! How far we have come 🙂 🧪
How it started vs how it's going, Rupert Murdoch edition.
August 17, 2023 at 9:26 AM
How it started vs how it's going, Rupert Murdoch edition.
Theoretical Physicist, Medical Physicist, Experimental Physicist 🧪
August 15, 2023 at 12:10 PM
Theoretical Physicist, Medical Physicist, Experimental Physicist 🧪
The wiki synopsis just gets more and more insane as you go on. Going to pass on this one.
July 25, 2023 at 6:52 AM
The wiki synopsis just gets more and more insane as you go on. Going to pass on this one.
POV: you are a Visigoth in 410AD
July 24, 2023 at 6:04 AM
POV: you are a Visigoth in 410AD
I am begging US politicos who have run out of things to write about to stop making Joe Biden look cool as shit. https://www.axios.com/2023/07/10/biden-temper-us-president
July 10, 2023 at 3:18 PM
I am begging US politicos who have run out of things to write about to stop making Joe Biden look cool as shit. https://www.axios.com/2023/07/10/biden-temper-us-president
"The main target for cancer waiting times, that 85 per cent of patients start treatment within two months of an urgent referral, hasn't been met in almost a decade."
🙃
🧪 https://tinyurl.com/NHS-wait-time
🙃
🧪 https://tinyurl.com/NHS-wait-time
July 10, 2023 at 12:02 PM
"The main target for cancer waiting times, that 85 per cent of patients start treatment within two months of an urgent referral, hasn't been met in almost a decade."
🙃
🧪 https://tinyurl.com/NHS-wait-time
🙃
🧪 https://tinyurl.com/NHS-wait-time
It ultimately comes down to cost. For the price of one (typical) proton accelator, you can build ~5 photon linear accelerators, and with modern day dose shaping technology the advantages of protons are compensated for somewhat by the fact that modern photon doses in 3D are "sculpted" as below 🧪
July 10, 2023 at 9:34 AM
It ultimately comes down to cost. For the price of one (typical) proton accelator, you can build ~5 photon linear accelerators, and with modern day dose shaping technology the advantages of protons are compensated for somewhat by the fact that modern photon doses in 3D are "sculpted" as below 🧪
Cancer (medical physics?) fact of the day: The choice of which particle to irradiate with depends on where the tumour is! Electrons deposit a lot of dose to surface, photons deposit dose deeper in the body, and protons deposit a large dose at an adjustable depth. 🧪
July 10, 2023 at 9:27 AM
Cancer (medical physics?) fact of the day: The choice of which particle to irradiate with depends on where the tumour is! Electrons deposit a lot of dose to surface, photons deposit dose deeper in the body, and protons deposit a large dose at an adjustable depth. 🧪
Cancer fact of the day: Thanks to improved treatment and diagnostic tools, the overall cancer survival rate (in 🇬🇧) has more than doubled in the past 40 years! It has gone from 24% to 50% and may well continue to increase with novel therapies complementing an already impressive array of tools. 🧪
July 4, 2023 at 7:47 AM
Cancer fact of the day: Thanks to improved treatment and diagnostic tools, the overall cancer survival rate (in 🇬🇧) has more than doubled in the past 40 years! It has gone from 24% to 50% and may well continue to increase with novel therapies complementing an already impressive array of tools. 🧪
Behold! The ship of the future!!
June 30, 2023 at 11:13 AM
Behold! The ship of the future!!
Cancer fact of the day: CRUK estimates that ~40% of cancers in the UK are preventable; we are losing 150 000 people per year to preventable cancers.
The top two risk factors across all UK nations are smoking and obesity/overweight status, which together account for 20% of preventable cancers.🧪
The top two risk factors across all UK nations are smoking and obesity/overweight status, which together account for 20% of preventable cancers.🧪
June 28, 2023 at 3:48 PM
Cancer fact of the day: CRUK estimates that ~40% of cancers in the UK are preventable; we are losing 150 000 people per year to preventable cancers.
The top two risk factors across all UK nations are smoking and obesity/overweight status, which together account for 20% of preventable cancers.🧪
The top two risk factors across all UK nations are smoking and obesity/overweight status, which together account for 20% of preventable cancers.🧪
Cancer fact of the day: Medical linear accelerators can "sculpt" a radiotherapy dose distribution in 3D around the planning target (PTV). Dose delivery (with proper QA) can be guaranteed within just 1mm of (spatial) uncertainty! 🧪
More here: https://youtu.be/jSgnWfbEx1A
More here: https://youtu.be/jSgnWfbEx1A
June 27, 2023 at 8:26 AM
Cancer fact of the day: Medical linear accelerators can "sculpt" a radiotherapy dose distribution in 3D around the planning target (PTV). Dose delivery (with proper QA) can be guaranteed within just 1mm of (spatial) uncertainty! 🧪
More here: https://youtu.be/jSgnWfbEx1A
More here: https://youtu.be/jSgnWfbEx1A
Tl;Dr 🧪 (DNA damage can trigger apoptosis in cancer cells, aka programmed cell suicide, but it can also just stop them from dividing, which is just as good for therapeutic purposes)
June 26, 2023 at 8:31 PM
Tl;Dr 🧪 (DNA damage can trigger apoptosis in cancer cells, aka programmed cell suicide, but it can also just stop them from dividing, which is just as good for therapeutic purposes)