Experience the Elekta Differ - Institute of Physics and Engineering in ...

FIGURE 1.
A slide from
David Willis’ talk.
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MEETING REPORTS | SCOPE
BESPOKE SOFTWARE IN MEDICAL PHYSICS
AND CLINICAL ENGINEERING CONFERENCE
ANDREW ROBINSON The Harley Street Clinic, London
UCLH INSTITUTE FOR CHILD HEALTH 28th May 2012
IT WAS A WONDERFULLY SUNNY DAY IN MAY
when nearly 90 delegates descended on London for this
conference organised by IPEM’s Informatics and
Computing Special Interest Group (ICSIG). The Special
Interest Group was keen to highlight the key work that
is performed by medical physicists and clinical
engineers in designing, developing and maintaining
bespoke software that is used in their departments.
Presentations on a variety of applications across all
medical physics and clinical engineering specialities
were delivered, as well as a large collection of scientific
posters that delegates could peruse at their leisure
during the breaks.
PRESENTATIONS
David Willis (Norfolk and Norwich University
Hospital, Norwich) opened the conference with an
informative presentation entitled ‘Bespoke software:
concept to clinical’, where he went through his
experience of software development from a
commercial, research and clinical perspective (figure 1).
His presentation summed up the role of the bespoke
software/in-house developer well. He also hit the nail
on the head with the often found problem in
departments that rely on one or two people to make
bespoke software: ‘Couldn’t write
us a program to do that?’, a statement that may
resonate with some readers! It was also interesting to
hear about some of the radiotherapy-related software
that he has developed, including software to perform
transit EPID dosimetry, an area where there are few
commercial alternatives.
A highly enjoyable talk was given by the
conference’s invited speaker Ian Wells (University of
Surrey, Guildford). In his talk ‘In-house software
development: a retrospective view’, he gave an
overview of how computing had changed during his
career, as well as highlighting the importance of
ensuring that software meets appropriate standards
from both a patient safety and professional point of
view. He had four questions for in-house software
developers to take away with them: is your software
durable? Are your systems safe? Is your methodology
appropriate? Are your qualifications suitable, and does
SCOPE | SEPTEMBER 2012 | 23
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