The IEEE NPSS School on “Advanced Topics in Medical Imaging” was held in the city of Depok in Jakarta (Java Island, Indonesia) July 31^st – August 4^th, 2024.

The school was organized by the NPSS Educational Committee in collaboration with Supriyanto (Supri) Ardjo Pawiro from the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences at University of Indonesia. Supri and his team did an excellent job in preparing the classrooms and related logistics with the result of an outstanding school.

A total of sixty-six applications were received through the NPSS Schools webpage. The applications were reviewed and scored by the school organizers and a total of twenty-eight students (female/male ratio of 21/7) were selected. The selection criteria accounted for the student’s background, personal motivation and future plans for a career in medical imaging.

The school followed a balanced mixture between plenary lectures and overviews, a refresher on medical imaging and hands-on exercises including, Image Quality Assessment and EasyPET lab at the University of Indonesia. These activities were combined with two days of practicum sessions at the RS Kanker Dharmais Hospital which is a state-owned cancer center. The school program is still available on https://indico.cern.ch/event/1353971/overview.

For the lectures, a team of six experts from five different countries — Zhye Yin, Andrea Gonzalez-Montoro, Steven R. Meikle, Youngho Seo, Katie Hellier and Martin Grossmann (main organizer of the school, together with Roger Fulton who provided remote support) — was formed to cover the principles of planar, tomographic and hybrid imaging (i.e., X-ray, CT, SPECT, PET and MRI), the basics of image reconstruction and image registration, the application of AI techniques, and the principles of imaging therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals.

For the practical session, the school had two exercises. In the first one, using their own laptops, the students prepared and ran a Cascaded Linear Systems Model (for more information visit the school webpage) simulation in C++ for generating X-ray images. For the second exercise, two EasyPET kits were assembled to demonstrate the basics of PET imaging.

As expected, the hands-on workshops were very important as they allowed the students to practice and better understand the physics underlying medical imaging processes. In words of the students:

“I am very grateful to be a participant at the IEEE NPSS School, an amazing school and beyond my expectations. This program combines theory and practice together. This is something we rarely see on Indonesian campuses, due to limited equipment in laboratories and the difficulty of getting permits in some hospitals. What really impressed me about this school was the practice of using EasyPET.  Young researchers were taught to truly understand the basic principles of how simple PET works (as a prototype) first, and then applied them to more complex PET technology. 😊”

~ Zahrah Al Jannah, (Indonesia), 2^nd year Master Student at Diponegoro University.

After the hands-on exercises we had the school dinner at the restaurant Mang Engking. This was an incredible opportunity to create links between the students and the lecturers. Indeed, for the first time we become “influencers” since the students were constantly posting our adventures on Instagram!

Also, our activity in LinkedIn has increased since several posts have been shared summarizing our activities. This is an excellent way to enrich the student’s scope and projection in the field since LinkedIn is a professional platform used world wide.

The last two days of the school took place at the RS Kanker Dharmais where the Center DIrector, Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou, provided a very nice venue. After that, our teachers presented the most relevant aspects of quality control of X-ray, CT and PET/CT scanner. The students were divided into three groups and, together with the instructors, were able to run the main validation tests for the actual X-ray, CT and PET/CT scanners used in the Center. After the PET/CT quality check, the students gave short presentations on one of the topics covered in the school, and at the end each student received a certificate.

Quoting some of the student’s words:

“The IEEE NPSS school on advanced medical imaging has been an incredibly rewarding experience. It combines both theoretical insights and hands-on practice, which are essential for my field of study. This opportunity has enriched my understanding of medical modalities and expand my knowledge. I’ve also grown more confident in presentations and have developed valuable teamwork skills.”

~ Lyda Pav (Cambodia), 1st year Medical Physics Master Student at the University of Indonesia.

We would like to highlight that we were able to award one of the students, Vepy Asyana (second year doctoral student, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia), for her outstanding participation in the school with  NPSS ”School to Conference Initiative travel grant” to attend the next IEEE NSS/MIC conference in Yokohama, Japan.

Summarizing, the NPSS school on “Advanced Topics in Medical Imaging” provided an excellent opportunity to give IEEE NPSS recognition in Indonesia while motivating the younger generations to pursue their careers in our fields. As expressed by Rahmat Riyadi (Indonesia), Master in Physics (CT Scan Image Processing) at Diponegoro University:

“After attending this event, I gained numerous benefits, such as knowledge, networking opportunities, and insights into the latest developments in medical imaging. I am now motivated to continue learning and deepening my understanding of medical physics. I hope these connections will continue beyond the completion of my studies. Perhaps in the future, we can discuss advancements in medical imaging.”

In addition to the educational activities, the lectures were invited by Dr. Freddy Haryanto from the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) to attend the annual PIT-FMB conference in Bandung (West Jakarta) which is one of the most prestigious medical imaging events held in South East Asia. At the conference the NPSS teachers gave invited plenary presentations about their field of research.

Also, we had the opportunity to organize an IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) event at the conference. For the event we heard the impressive testimonies of local pioneering medical physics speakers who ranged from senior scientists to Ph.D. students. The talks were very inspiring and raised awareness of the IEEE WIE activities.

Andrea Gonzalez-Montoro, Institute for Instrumentation in Molecular Imaging (i3M, CSIC-UPV) and lecturer for the IEEE NPSS International Schools, can be reached by E-mail at [email protected]