1
00:00:00,210 --> 00:00:02,689
[Music]

2
00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:05,799
Hello and welcome to a

3
00:00:05,799 --> 00:00:08,320
new interview in Medical Physics

4
00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:10,120
here at the German Cancer Research Center

5
00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:13,440
in Heidelberg. We are here in the

6
00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,560
Imaging and Radiotherapy building,

7
00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,119
and on the second floor, where we are

8
00:00:19,119 --> 00:00:21,439
right now, are mostly

9
00:00:21,439 --> 00:00:24,119
the offices of students.

10
00:00:24,119 --> 00:00:25,760
In the video, we will meet Stefan.

11
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:27,439
Stefan is

12
00:00:27,439 --> 00:00:29,320
a doctoral student here at the 

13
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:31,880
German Cancer Research Center, and he will tell us more

14
00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,150
about his research.

15
00:00:34,150 --> 00:00:46,340
[Music]

16
00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,960
Hi Stefan, thanks for your

17
00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,120
time. Sure! Maybe you would like to

18
00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:55,680
briefly introduce yourself at the beginning!

19
00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,760
I'm Stefan. I'm 25 years old  

20
00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:00,640
and have been here for about two years

21
00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,879
at the DKFZ. Currently, I am a PhD student in

22
00:01:03,879 --> 00:01:05,760
the research group Translation Research for Ion Beam Therapy

23
00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,640
If I remember

24
00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,960
correctly, you studied in Tübingen

25
00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:12,360
for your master's degree.

26
00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,240
What exactly did you study there?

27
00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,040
I studied medical physics or

28
00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:18,840
medical radiation science

29
00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,200
The program is quite

30
00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,439
clinically oriented. Why did you

31
00:01:23,439 --> 00:01:25,759
then come from Tübingen to the DKFZ?

32
00:01:25,759 --> 00:01:28,600
Actually, exactly

33
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:30,439
this aspect, that it was quite clinically

34
00:01:30,439 --> 00:01:31,920
oriented there. It was a very

35
00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:33,439
exciting experience, but I also wanted to

36
00:01:33,439 --> 00:01:35,200
do something in research itself or

37
00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,000
in basic research itself

38
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,560
and since the DKFZ is well known

39
00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:41,399
for its cancer research, but especially

40
00:01:41,399 --> 00:01:43,200
for medical physics, I am 

41
00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:44,920
here. And of course,

42
00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:46,560
Heidelberg is also a beautiful city. 

43
00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:48,799
You said

44
00:01:48,799 --> 00:01:50,640
that you are a PhD student here at the

45
00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,079
DKFZ. What is your research about?

46
00:01:54,079 --> 00:01:56,360
I work with small passive

47
00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:57,920
neutron detectors, which you can see here

48
00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,600
on the right.

49
00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:02,240
For size comparison, there is a

50
00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:03,840
one cent coin on the left.

51
00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,320
And I measure neutron radiation with this detector.

52
00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,080
I can put these detectors in this holder

53
00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,760
and at the same time I can do

54
00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:13,440
measurements with the holder, 

55
00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:15,360
also computer simulations - so-called Monte

56
00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:16,840
Carlo simulations. You can see here, 

57
00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:18,400
how I have implemented the bracket.

58
00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,440
And then I can

59
00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,360
compare the results with the experimental

60
00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,680
results and see what

61
00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:26,760
differs, what works there

62
00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:28,480
better, what is better here. The question arises

63
00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:30,440
why we measure neutrons and

64
00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,760
what are neutrons anyway. Neutrons

65
00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:34,920
are uncharged particles that are produced during the

66
00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:37,000
radiation of cancer patients

67
00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:38,400
and can reach tissue that

68
00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:40,080
should not actually be irradiated.

69
00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,280
And that can lead to additional damage in the

70
00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:44,720
patient, and for that I have

71
00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,280
brought this graphic with me, where you can see

72
00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,400
if you imagine, for example, a

73
00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,239
pregnant patient or a child has to

74
00:02:52,239 --> 00:02:54,760
be treated. This can create neutrons,

75
00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:56,640
shown here in green, which

76
00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:00,000
reach areas in the patient

77
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:01,200
that are not supposed to be irradiated

78
00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,440
which then - if it goes badly -

79
00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:05,280
can lead to secondary tumors, and of course that's

80
00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,280
not what we want. That's why the 

81
00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,360
aim of my work with my detectors is to

82
00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,200
measure in different radiation situations,

83
00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,720
to measure and see what

84
00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,120
dose is applied, what do we measure there, and in the

85
00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,400
long term, that these detectors

86
00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:19,959
can be used in the clinic,

87
00:03:19,959 --> 00:03:22,239
for the doctor, so that they can obtain additional

88
00:03:22,239 --> 00:03:23,879
information about the neutrons themselves

89
00:03:23,879 --> 00:03:26,400
You mentioned at the beginning that

90
00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:28,400
you work with passive detectors.

91
00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,319
Why are they called passive

92
00:03:30,319 --> 00:03:32,319
detectors? They are called passive

93
00:03:32,319 --> 00:03:33,840
because they don't really have any or

94
00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:35,400
they don't have a power supply. That

95
00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:37,519
means there is no battery or anything like that, there

96
00:03:37,519 --> 00:03:39,200
is just this crystal, and that

97
00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:40,920
allows these

98
00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:43,799
detectors to be used in a fairly small form

99
00:03:43,799 --> 00:03:45,439
So they are not big

100
00:03:45,439 --> 00:03:46,879
and bulky, but you can place them

101
00:03:46,879 --> 00:03:49,400
anywhere, that's why they're called

102
00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:51,599
passive. Of course, this also means

103
00:03:51,599 --> 00:03:54,799
that the post-processing, that means,

104
00:03:54,799 --> 00:03:57,439
the evaluation of the detectors, is quite

105
00:03:57,439 --> 00:03:58,920
extensive compared to

106
00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,200
detectors where, for example,

107
00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,280
my measurement is directely displayed.

108
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:04,360
Here, we have prepared

109
00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,920
the radiotherapy chain,

110
00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,200


111
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,120
Where would you locate your research on the

112
00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:14,760
workflow?

113
00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,359
That's a good question. I'm

114
00:04:17,359 --> 00:04:19,000
currently still more in the area of

115
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,040
basic research, but

116
00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,280
if you consider the goal of my work or of

117
00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:26,520
the project, I think

118
00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:28,240
I could put it in the area of treatment

119
00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:30,720
planning because the goal

120
00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:32,720
is, so to speak, to provide the doctor with additional

121
00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,479
information about the neutron dose

122
00:04:35,479 --> 00:04:36,919
so that he can take this into account in the

123
00:04:36,919 --> 00:04:38,759
treatment planning.

124
00:04:38,759 --> 00:04:40,360
And then also improve the outcome for the patient

125
00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:41,960
can also improve the outcome for the patient. Yes. 

126
00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:43,440
You've now explained your research to us in detail

127
00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:45,840
What fascinates you

128
00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:48,240
most about your research?

129
00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:49,840
In medical physics or in

130
00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:51,479
medical physics research,

131
00:04:51,479 --> 00:04:53,120
fascinates me most is that you

132
00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:55,680
always research and work with the aim of

133
00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,600
and works to improve the quality of treatment

134
00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:00,440
of

135
00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,479
patients and that 

136
00:05:02,479 --> 00:05:04,440
actually motivates you every day

137
00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,199
to continue working, even when

138
00:05:06,199 --> 00:05:09,639
unexpected results arise.

139
00:05:09,639 --> 00:05:12,400
What has been a recent highlight

140
00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,600
here at the DKFZ? Well, in general,

141
00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:17,039
a highlight is perhaps that there is the

142
00:05:17,039 --> 00:05:19,199
opportunity to go to conferences to

143
00:05:19,199 --> 00:05:21,720
to meet international experts

144
00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,759
and exchange ideas with them.

145
00:05:23,759 --> 00:05:26,919
For example, last year in Pisa was

146
00:05:26,919 --> 00:05:29,280
the Solid State Dosimetry conference, where

147
00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:31,319
I was able to talk to experts in my field

148
00:05:31,319 --> 00:05:32,960
and discuss my topic

149
00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,000
and discuss new ideas and

150
00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:36,680
suggestions for my work

151
00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,720
Do you have any advice,

152
00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,319
why someone should study medical physics,

153
00:05:43,319 --> 00:05:45,120
for someone who may have just

154
00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:47,240
graduated from high school or has already

155
00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,199
started studying physics,

156
00:05:49,199 --> 00:05:51,080
why, in your opinion, should one

157
00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:52,960
change to medical physics?

158
00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,120
I think medical physics

159
00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:57,120
is characterized by being extremely

160
00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,639
exciting and diverse. You work with

161
00:05:59,639 --> 00:06:00,960
a lot of different people

162
00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,199
and specialties, for example

163
00:06:03,199 --> 00:06:05,919
physics, biology, chemistry or

164
00:06:05,919 --> 00:06:07,800
even computer science, to name just a few.

165
00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:10,800


166
00:06:12,790 --> 00:06:18,970
[Music]