Urban League Project REACH Virtual Fieldtrip

Tom Brown from The Urban League of Madison partnered with Dr. Tim Szczykutowicz from the UW Departments of Radiology, Medical Physics, and Biomedical Engineering to develop a half-day virtual field trip event for about 30 students from Wright Middle School. As part of the field trip, Dr. Szczykutowicz invited representatives from Radiology, Medical Physics, and Biomedical Engineering to develop interactive and engaging activities for the students. The activities spanned the topics of medical imaging devices, radiation therapy treatment planning, cancer identification, and gene editing and CRISPR. The Medical Physics Outreach Committee developed and led the radiation therapy treatment planning activity. For this activity, the students were provided with contoured CT print-outs as well as transparency paper cut into triangular “radiation beams.” After an introduction and discussion about radiation therapy and treatment planning goals, the students were tasked with identifying the contoured anatomy and tumor, determining the organs-at-risk, and creating treatment plans by strategically placing the “radiation beams” on the CT images. They were encouraged to work together and discuss their decisions with each other. Throughout the activities, the students asked insightful questions about linac regulations, treatment quality assurance, radiation effects on children, and the relationship between radiation therapy and chemotherapy. While many volunteers helped make this event possible, we especially want to thank those that contributed to the success of the medical physics activity namely Dr. Tim Szczykutowicz, Dr. Wally Block, Tracy Lee, Noah Ruh, and Zita Brown!