Research in our Division is dedicated on improvements of radiotherapy techniques using photons and ion beams. In the ongoing projects we focus on the adaption of the treatment to dynamic changes of target volumes and organs at risk under therapy, due to therapeutic response, organ motion or patient setup. Image-guided and time-adapted therapy is being developed to combine high precision dose delivery with online imaging of 3D anatomy and online monitoring of 3D dose distributions.

The Division is furthermore investigating the potential of integrating also functional imaging into treatment planning and adaption, aiming at boosting radio-resistant tumor sub-compartments and avoiding radiosensitive normal tissue structures. Establishing mathematical and biological models of tumor and normal tissue response is another tool to optimize treatment schemes and techniques. One of the strengths of the Division is the direct transfer of software and hardware development prototypes into clinical applications in close collaboration with the Radiation Oncology Clinical Cooperation Unit. The Division is also active in testing and establishing adequate quality assurance measures. This includes a cooperation with our national standard laboratory for dosimetry, PTB, which aims at developing novel and highly accurate dose measurement systems for scanned ion beams based on water calorimetry.

Finally, the division developed a system of courses for continuing education in medical physics and radiation oncology, which are based on an E-learning platform to establish a blended-learning approach.