Report on ARTTICON 2023: the Indian Radiation Therapists’ Congress endorsed by ESTRO and the IAEA

Debojoyti Dhar, Amrita Srivastava, Shaju Pilakkal, Sushant Pawar, Shweta Chavan, Bharat Reddy, Rasika Dabholkar, Sonali Dandi, Shruti Salvi, Ravi Rathor, Ankit Jaiswal, Sharan, Sumit Basu, Pranav Chadha

It gives us immense pleasure to inform you that the 27th national and ninth international conference of the Association of Radiation Therapy Technologists of India (ARTTI), ARTTICON 2023, was held from 14 to 15 October 2023 at the Dr Nitu Mandke Convention Centre, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute (KDAH), Mumbai.

The ARTTI was formed in 1996 to provide a unique platform for all radiation therapy professionals in India. Its main aim was to develop academic activities for radiation therapists (RTTs) and to enable them to update themselves on the latest technological developments in radiation oncology. The ARTTI has grown and earned recognition and honours from the radiation oncology fraternity through its continuous academic engagement, appraisal and development of RTTs in India. It has allied with RTTs worldwide to participate internationally in academic activities and has collaborated with ESTRO to share experiences across the field of radiation oncology. ARTTI has aided many RTTs in recognising their professional identity. A sign of its growth is that this year’s congress was endorsed by ESTRO for the first time.

The theme of the conference was “Science behind delivering patient care with precise techniques and mastering motion management”.

Over the two days, the scientific programme ran in three auditoriums simultaneously. There were more than 20 talks, two debate sessions, two panel discussions, ten trade lectures, four symposia from different vendors, and many oral paper presentations, proffered papers and digital poster presentations. The event attracted around 450 faculty and delegates from all parts of the country. The conference delivered a range of scientific content and was busy! It was the perfect amalgamation of fresh ideas from our future generation and words of wisdom from the veterans in the industry. Highlights of the topics that were covered are flash radiotherapy, RTT leadership in research, palliative care and pain management, image-guided radiotherapy, surface-guided radiation therapy, proton therapy, adaptive radiotherapy and technicians’ involvement, motion management, good practice in the role of RTT, quality of life, the need to strengthen the competence of RTTs, their role in brachytherapy, artificial intelligence in radiation treatment technologies, the role of RTTs in lung stereotactic body radiation therapy and many more. The debates were on proton vs. photon and frame-based vs. frameless stereotactic radiosurgery. The panel discussions were on the latest changes in motion management and for the first time, women who empower radiotherapy.

For the first time, the congress was held in collaboration with the Portuguese Association of Radiation Therapists, the Bangladesh Society of Radiotherapy Technologists, the International Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the International Society of Radiation Medicine and Molecular Imaging. It was also acknowledged by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Many awards were presented, such as the Gunila Bental Oration Award, the Radiation Therapy Technologists India Trust Academic Excellence Award, the Young RTT Award (open to RTTs with less than eight years’ experience), three Best Oral Paper Awards and three Best Poster Awards), the Sumanasa Seva Award, the RTTIT Proton Fellowship Award, and the Best Oral Meritorious and Best Poster Meritorious awards (for students).

^{Honoured guests at the inauguration ceremony. From left to right: Amrita Srivastava (master of ceremonies), Sushant Pawar (treasurer), Yat Tsang (ESTRO), Gurwinder Singh Wadhawan (chairman, ARTTI), Appari Sridhar (founding chairman, ARTTI), Pranav Chadha (chairman of the scientific committee of ARTTICON 2023), Lizbeth Cordero Mendez (IAEA), Santosh Shetty (chief executive, KDAH), Mihir Dalal (vice-president and clinical admin head, KDAH), Sumit Basu (organising chairman), Ajeet Singh (ARTTI president), P Mohan (general secretary, ARTTI), Shalu P (co-organising chairman, ARTTICON 2023), Debojoyti Dhar (organising secretary, ARTTICON 2023), Filipe Moura (Portuguese Association of RTTs), Rita Simoes (ESTRO)}

While in Mumbai, delegates were able to enjoy the economic capital of India and the fun offered by the “City of Dreams” in the pleasant October weather. 

The conference was an academic feast and a proud moment for all radiation therapy professionals. 

Debojoyti Dhar Technical executive Dept. of Radiation Oncology Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai Senior Joint secretary, ARTTI Email: debojoytid.tmh@gmail.com

Dr Amrita Srivastava Radiation oncologist Dept. of Radiation Oncology Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai Email: dramrita.sri@gmail.com