Current interests

Hugo Palmans is leading research on the development of improved dosimetry techniques for modern radiotherapy methods using small x-ray beams, complex combinations of those, radioactive sources and for developing radiotherapy methods using proton and carbon ion beams. This includes the application of existing dosimetry instruments like calorimeters, ionization chambers and alanine as well as the development of new instruments like microcalorimeters.

Hugo has also a strong interest in the future development of biodosimeters that represent the complexity of radiation damage in living cells.

Biography

Hugo has received two Masters degrees in Applied Sciences (obtaining the Belgian title of Burgerlijk Ingenieur which is probably the equivalent of the MEng title in the UK) and Environmental Sanitation at Ghent University, Belgium followed by a PhD in Applied Sciences at the same university. He worked there also as Lecturer and Post Doctoral Fellow before joining NPL.

Hugo is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, has contributed to more than 50 peer reviewed publications, 14 book chapters and more than 150 Conference Presentations.

He is Editorial Board Member of Medical Physics and Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine and has acted as referee for about 20 scientific journals, is the Chair of an International Working Group developing Codes of Practice for Small and Composite Field Dosimetry, has served on numerous other national and international committees such as an IPEM Working Group on Small Field Dosimetry and an IAEA working group on Nuclear Interaction Data for Particle Therapy.

Hugo has also contributed to numerous international courses such as the Small Field Dosimetry Course in Torino, Italy (16 Dec 2011), the Radiation Dosimetry Course at Linköping University, Sweden (2-5 May 2011), the Winter School for Medical Physics in Pichl/Steiermark, Austria (1-5 Mar 2010) and the AAPM Summer School on Clinical Dosimetry Measurement in Radiotherapy, Colorado Springs CO, USA (21-25 Jul 2009).

Selected publications

• Radiochromic film spectroscopy of laser-accelerated proton beams using the FLUKA code and dosimetry traceable to primary standards
  D. Kirby, S. Green, F. Fiorini, D. Parker, L. Romagnani, D. Doria, S. Kar, C. Lewis, M. Borghesi and  H. Palmans
  Laser Part. Beams, 29 (2), pages 231-239 (2011)
• Dose response of alanine detectors irradiated with carbon ion beams
  R. Herrmann, O.Jäkel, H. Palmans, P. Sharpe and N. Bassler
  Med. Phys. 38 (4), pages 1859-1866 (2011)
• Design concept for a novel SQUID-based microdosimeter
  S. Galer, L. Hao, J. Gallop, H. Palmans, K. Kirkby, A. Nisbet
  Radiat. Prot. Dos. 143 (2-4), pages 427-431 (2011)
• Dosimetry for Ion Beam Radiotherapy
  C. P. Karger, O. Jäkel, H. Palmans and T. Kanai
  Phys. Med. Biol. 55 (21), pages R193-R234 (2010)
• Ion recombination for ionisation chamber dosimetry in a tomotherapy unit
  H. Palmans, R. A. S. Thomas, S. Duane, E. Sterpin and S. Vynckier
  Med. Phys. 37 (6), pages 2876-2889 (2010) (awarded the Rutherford Prize 2011)
• A new formalism for reference dosimetry of small and non-standard fields
  R. Alfonso, P. Andreo, R. Capote, M. Saiful Huq, W. Kilby, P. Kjäll, T. R. Mackie, H. Palmans (corresponding author), K. Rosser, J. Seuntjens, W. Ullrich and S. Vatnitsky
  Med. Phys. 35 (11), pages 5179-5186 (2008)

Invited presentations

• Small field dosimetry: problems and solutions
  Seminar at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), University of Lausanne, Switzerland, 20 January 2012
• Absolute and relative dosimetry for protons and ions - challenges and solutions
  Lecture at the 11^th Biennial ESTRO Conference on Physics and Radiation Technology for Clinical Radiotherapy, London 8-12 May 2011
• Small field dosimetry, QA and lessons learned
  ESTRO Pre-Meeting course on Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, London, 8 May 2011
• Small and composite field dosimetry
  Seminar at the University of Lille, France, 10 December 2010
• Small and composite field dosimetry: problems and progress
  Seminar at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, United Kingdom, 6 December 2010
• Recent progress in proton dosimetry
  Seminar Gray Lab Oxford, 8 September 2010
• Impact of Monte Carlo simulations on improved reference dosimetry
  Keynote Lecture at the 2^nd European workshop on Monte Carlo treatment planning, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 19-21 October 2009
• New formalisms for reference dosimetry of non-standard fields
  Teaching Lecture at the 10^th Biennial ESTRO Conference on Physics and Radiation Technology for Clinical Radiotherapy, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 30 August - 3 September 2009
• Current status/developments in proton dosimetry
  Seminar at the University Hospital of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 25 March 2009
• Current status/developments in ion beam dosimetry
  Lecture at the British Institute of Radiology Symposium on Radiotherapy Dosimetry: Current Status & Future Developments, Teddington, United Kingdom, 26 February 2009

Contact details

E-mail: hugo.palmans@npl.co.uk
Tel: 020 8943 6203