Advancing CBCT Optimisation in Radiotherapy: OPTIMIZE-RT Project Updates

On 16 October 2026, the Erasmus+ funded OPTIMIZE-RT project held an international educational and dissemination event entitled “Optimisation of CBCT Imaging in Radiotherapy” at Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori in Monza, Italy.

Coordinated by the University of Malta, the project addresses a critical challenge in modern image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT): balancing the high positioning accuracy offered by Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) with the need to minimise cumulative radiation exposure to patients.

The Monza event brought together medical physicists, radiation therapists/radiographers (RTTs), radiation oncologists, and healthcare professionals to foster multidisciplinary collaboration in radiation safety. Technical sessions covered CBCT exposure parameters, dose metrics, and quantitative and qualitative image quality assessment methods.

Participants also reviewed key findings from the project’s systematic literature review and European survey, alongside a proposed evidence-based CBCT optimisation procedure.

OPTIMIZE-RT brings together a ten-partner European consortium. Led by the University of Malta, the consortium includes two higher education institutions (UM and Escola Superior de Saúde do Politécnico do Porto), four clinical centres (Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre -Malta, Unidade Local de Saúde de São João - Portugal, Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto - Portugal, and Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori - Italy), and four major international scientific bodies (EFOMP, EFRS, ESTRO, and ICRP).

The initiative’s primary goal is to develop and validate an asynchronous, 5 ECTS online course at EQF level 7 designed to help clinical teams implement CBCT optimisation protocols across European radiotherapy departments.

Applications are now officially open for the OPTIMIZE-RT online course (first deadline: 15 November), scheduled for delivery between February and June 2027. The pilot course will combine theoretical learning with practical, department-level clinical implementation, enabling multidisciplinary healthcare teams to evaluate and optimise their local CBCT protocols.

The project will culminate in a final dissemination conference in Porto, Portugal, in September 2028 to present the outcomes of the clinical optimisation activities. Interested professionals can find course application details and project resources online.

The University of Malta team includes Prof. Frank Zarb (UM leader and WP3 leader), Dr Jonathan Portelli (Researcher and Head of Department), Ms Claudia Aradas (Research Support Officer and PhD student), and Dr Guilherme Couto (Project Coordinator).