Past SEACOMPs

Since the formation of SEAFOMP, it has been organizing a series of congresses to promote scientific exchange and mutual support. The South East Asian Congress of Medical Physics dates back from the year 2001 and is held mostly annually. All the information provided here is reproduced from SEAFOMP’s publication and documentations/reports.

The South East Asian Medical Physics Workshop 2001 with the theme of ‘Continuous Quality Improvement in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy’ was organized by the Department of Radiology, University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and jointly organized by SEAFOMP, IFM (Radiation Physics, Biophysics and Medical Physics Subgroup). It was sponsored by IOMP, Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP), Ministry of Health Malaysia, Malaysian Radiological Society, Malaysian Oncological Society and Nuclear Medicine Society of Malaysia. It was retrospectively renamed as the First SEACOMP.

The Workshop was directed by Prof. Gary Fullerton, Radiological Sciences Division, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, USA and Associate Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, Department of Radiology, University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The invited faculty include: Prof. Gary Fullerton (USA), Ing. Geert Carrein (Belgium), Assoc. Prof. BJJ Abdullah (Malaysia), Assoc. Prof. Sazilah Ahmad Sarji (Malaysia), Assoc. Prof. Ahmad Zakaria (Malaysia), Assoc. Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng (Malaysia), Assoc. Prof Hang-See Ong (Malaysia), Dr. Matin Mellor Abdullah (Malaysia), Mr. Hwee-Beng Wang (Malaysia), Mr. Taiman Kadni (Malaysia), Dr. James Lee Cheow Lei (Singapore), Dr. Anchali Krisanachinda (Thailand).

This course was a follow-up of a very successful IOMP-endorsed Medical Physics Workshop led by Prof. Larry DeWerd held during 10-11 April 2000. The current course aims at medical physicists, radiographers, radiologists, radiation oncologists, biomedical engineers and allied health professionals from South East Asia and other countries. It objective is to address quality issues in medical imaging and radiation therapy – quality assurance, protocols, quality training and professional development, and emerging technologies. Some emphasis was focused on magnetic resonance imaging, digital imaging, balancing image quality and radiation dose, nuclear medicine, and precision radiotherapy.

About 110 delegates attended, representing 17 countries: Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Germany, India, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, and Vietnam. The workshop attracted multi-disciplinary participation from medical physicists, radiographers, radiologists, radiation oncologists, biomedical engineers, equipment vendors, technicians, students, administrators, regulators, etc. The course also incorporates a scientific poster session for participants to present their works. Awards for best poster presentations were given. A mini trade exhibition was also held.

Program book cover for 1st SEACOMP

The theme of this congress is “Enhancing quality in imaging and therapy in South-east Asia”. This congress was directed by Dr. Anchali Krisanachinda and organized by the Thai Medical Physicists Society and the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. The congress was co-sponsored by IOMP and the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM). It also received the endorsement and support from AFOMP and European Federation of Organizations in Medical Physics (EFOMP). The IPEM sponsored travel grant for two eminent speakers, namely Dr. Paul Shrimpton from the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) and Dr. JA Evans from the University of Leeds.

The congress comprises of two plenary lectures, one keynote lecture, one refresher course, 14 invited talks, seven proffered papers and three posters. A new feature of the congress is the seven QA workshops on computed tomography, stereotactic radiosurgery, ultrasonography, single photon emission computed tomography, IMRT, mammography and brachytherapy. These workshops encompass hands-on and demonstration sessions.

The two plenary lectures delivered were: “Status of Medical Physicist in Thailand” by Prof. Makumkrong Poshyachinda and “Patient Protection for Diagnostic Radiology in the 21st Century” by Dr. Paul Shrimpton. The other invited speakers include Dr. JA Evans, Mr. Ahmad Shariff Hambali, Dr. Peter Homolka, Prof. Anchali Krisanachinda, Mr. Louis Lee, Prof. Franco Milano, Dr. RM Millar, Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, Ms. Agnette Paralta, Dr. Frantisek Pernicka, Dr. Madan Rehani, Prof. Djarwani Soejoko, Mr. Hwee-Beng Wang, and Dr. Shuji Yamamoto.

About 150 participants attended the congress, representing some 16 countries: Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom and USA.

Program book cover for 2nd SEACOMP

The 3rd SEACOMP was also the 4th Asia-Oceania Congress of Medical Physics (AOCMP). The organizing chairman was Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng. It was jointly organized by the Department of Radiology, University of Malaya, Malaysia, Radiation Physics, Biophysics and Medical Physics Subgroup of the Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM), SEAFOMP and AFOMP. It was supported by the IOMP and Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). It was also endorsed by the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM), EFOMP, American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), IPEM, College of Radiology, Academy of Medicine Malaysia (CoR), and the Ministry of Health Malaysia.

About 220 participants attended the congress, representing some 23 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, China, Germany, Hong Kong China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA and Vietnam.

A most appropriate theme “Progress and Innovations in Medical Physics” was chosen to reflect the status and direction of medical physics in this fast-growing region. The high scientific standard has been reflected by the 11 plenary addresses, 16 keynote lectures, 4 refresher courses, 1 symposium, 22 proffered papers and 28 posters. The topics covered include: biophysics, computing, digital imaging, dosimetry, education in medical physics, functional imaging, image processing, biomedical instrumentation, magnetic resonance imaging, medical electronics, medical informatics, modeling, molecular imaging, non-ionizing radiation, nuclear medicine, physics of human body, quality assurance, radiation protection, radiation therapy, radiobiology, radiological physics, radiology, regulations and organizations, signal processing, and ultrasound. A trade exhibition was also held.

The congress began with an Opening Ceremony graced by YA Bhg Tun Dr Siti Hasmah bt Hj Mohd Ali (former First Lady of Malaysia who was a medical doctor). Tun Dr Siti delivered her keynote address on “Medical Physics in Women’s Health”. She spoke on the role of medical physicists in cooperation with other medical professionals, biomedical engineers and scientists in contributing to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

In honour of the late Prof. John Cameron who has contributed tremendously to the development of medical physics in this region, an eponymous lecture was set up. The inaugural John Cameron Lecture was delivered by Prof. Willi Kalender from Germany. His lecture was titled “Recent Developments in Volume CT Scanning”. Subsequently the audience viewed a recorded lecture by Prof. John Cameron on “Imagination and Creativity in Medical Physics” and had a teleconferencing session with him.

Other invited speakers include Prof. Barry J Allen (St George Hospital, Australia), Prof. Shanglian Bao (Peking University, China), Prof. Alun Beddoe (University of Birmingham, UK), Prof. John Cameron (University of Wisconsin, USA), Dr. KY Cheung (Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China), Dr. Rehir Dahalan (AELB, Malaysia), Dr. David J Dowsett (Dublin, Ireland), Dr. JA Evans (University of Leeds, UK), Prof. Kiyonari Inamura (Kansai University, Japan), Mr. Taiman Kadni (MINT, Malaysia), Prof. Willi Kalender (Institut fuer Medizinische Physik, Germany), Prof. Anchali Krisanachinda (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand), Prof. Franco Milano (Università di Firenze, Italy), Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng (University of Malaya, Malaysia), Ms. Agnette Peralta (Manila, Philippines), Prof. Djarwani Soejoko (Jakarta, Indonesia), Prof. Tae Suk Suh (Catholic University, Korea), Dr. Shuji Yamamoto (Osaka University, Japan), and Dr Allan Wilkinson (Cleveland Clinic Foundation, USA).

SEACOMP has initiated the tradition of awarding the best student presentation awards and this has stimulated much interest among the students. The students were given awards for best student presentations, both oral and poster, to encourage excellence in this field. Book prizes were generously donated by Medical Physics Publishing.

The abstracts were published in the Australasian Physical & Engineering Sciences in Medicine Vol. 27 No. 2 June 2004 issue. A 380-page proceedings, in hard and soft copies, were also published and distributed to all the participants.

Program book cover for 3rd SEACOMP.
The opening ceremony of the 3rd SEACOMP was graced by YA Bhg Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah, the former first lady of Malaysia.

The 4th SEACOMP, with the theme ‘Physics Contribution to Human and Biosystem’ was jointly organized by the Department of Physics, University of Indonesia; Department of Physics, Bogor Institute of Agriculture; Indonesian Medical Physics and Biophysics Association. The local organizers were headed by Dr. Rachmat Adi and Prof. Djarwani Soejoko.

The invited international speakers include: Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, Dr. KY Cheung (Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China), Prof. Anchali Krisanachinda (Chulalongkorn University, Thailand), Dr. Karlis Gross (Biomaterials Engineering, University of Melbourne), Dr. Martin Law (Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong), and Mr. TJ Wong (National Cancer Center, Singapore). The local invited speakers include regulators from the National Atomic Energy Agency and the National Nuclear Energy Control Board, radiologist and radiation oncologist.

About 126 participants from 7 countries attended the congress: Australia, Hong Kong China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden and Thailand. The congress consisted of 3 plenary lectures, 10 keynote addresses, 1 symposium, 26 proffered papers and 5 poster presentations.

A radiation dosimetry workshop was held from 9-11 Nov. This workshop consisted of lectures and laboratory work, and was attended by physicists from several hospitals in Indonesia and staff from the Ministry of Health. The trainers in the lectures were Dr. James Lee (National Cancer Center, Singapore), Mr. Mohd. Izhwan Goh (National University Hospital, Singapore), Dr. KY Cheung (Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong), and Prof. Djarwani S Soejoko (Department. of Physics, University of Indonesia).

The laboratory work was held at Radiotherapy Department, Pertamina Hospital Center and they also visited the Radiotherapy Department, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital Center. The local trainers were: Dwi Seno K Sihono (Department. of Physics, University of Indonesia) and Indra Johannes (Radiotherapy Department, Pertamina Hospital Center).

We continued with the SEACOMP tradition to grant meritorious awards to outstanding oral and poster presentation for students. These awards were created to encourage students to embark on research and to promote the profession of medical physics. The judging committee headed by both Dr. KY Cheung and Mr. TJ Wong remarked that the overall quality was excellent and a total of eight awards was given out to the following students: Imada Fatma, Indra Yohannes (Indonesia); Nantaporn Naiyanet, Navapan Pitaxtarnin (Thailand); Mohamad Fahdillah, Chai-Hong Yeong, Hwee-Shin Soh, Saidatul Ardeenawatie (Malaysia).

Program book cover for 4th SEACOMP

The 5th SEACOMP, with the theme “Saving Lives Through Physics and Engineering” was organized by the Philippine Organization of Medical Physicists (POMP) and the UST Graduate School. It is supported by the IOMP Education and Training Committee, the Department of Health, the Department of Science and Technology, and the University of Santo Tomas. The local organizing team was led by Ms. Agnette Peralta and Prof. Lilian Sison.

There were 124 participants from 11 countries: Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Thailand. The scientific program consists of 36 oral presentations, 6 posters and 16 lectures. In addition, there were 3 refresher courses on “QA with Treatment Planning Systems”, “QA with Mammographic Systems”, and “QA with PET-CT Systems” and also a symposium on “Education and Training of Medical Physicists” where Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines shared and learned from each other’s experiences. A post –conference refresher course on “QA with Linacs” was also held for the local participants..

The highlight of the Congress was the 2nd John Cameron Memorial Lecture which was delivered by Professor Kwan-Hoong Ng of the University of Malaya, who is also the founding president of SEAFOMP and president-elect of the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP). Prof. Ng addressed the relevancy of medical physics in his lecture, aptly titled “Medical Physics in 2020: Will We Still Be Relevant?”

Other invited speakers were IOMP President Prof. Barry Allen, AFOMP President Prof. Kiyori Inamura, former AFOMP President Dr. KY Cheung, IAEA expert, Dr. John Drew, Dr. Somsak Wanwilairat of Chiang Mai University, Dr. David Causer of the Royal Perth Hospital, Prof. Franco Milano of the University of Florence, and SEAFOMP President Prof. Anchali Krisanachinda. IAEA expert Dr. John Drew also gave a talk on the “IAEA Regional Cooperation Agreement Clinical Training Modules in Radiation Oncology Medical Physics (ROMP)” while Prof. Krisanachinda gave a talk on “The Experience in Piloting the ROMP Clinical Training Modules in Thailand.”

The 5th SEACOMP drew to a close with the honouring of the tradition of SEACOMP and in the spirit of nurturing young aspiring scientists and physicists. Prizes were awarded to the six best student papers upon the recommendation of the Board of Judges headed by Prof. Milano. The awards were given to Mah Yik Hoay and Wan Hazlinda of Malaysia, Thunyarat Chusin and Isra Israngkul Na Ayuthaya of Thailand, and Darrin Casipong and Hazel Faustino of the Philippines.

Brochure for 5th SEACOMP.

The 8th SEACOMP held in Bandung (2010), Indonesia was initially planned to be held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia but was moved to Bandung due to volcanic eruption near Yogyakarta. The congress was held in December 10-13, 2010 as the South East Asian Congress of Medical Physics, Biophysics, and Biomedical Engineering, themed “Improvement in Medical Science and Technology for Better Life”. It was a two-days meeting preceded by a one day pre-congress workshop. In total, there were 5 pre-congress invited speakers and 15 invited speakers for the congress sessions. There were 47 proffered paper presented in oral presentation and 18 poster presentations. The congress was attended 131 participants consisting of local participants (88), participants from Thailand (18), The Philippines (9), Malaysia (12), Vietnam (1), Singapore (1), Australia (1), and Sweden (1). A dance performance was included in the program, and the last day of the congress was closed by a tour to mount Tangkuban Perahu.

Program book cover for 8th SEACOMP
Group photo of committee members and participants

13th SEACOMP was hosted by Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN Sunan Kalijaga), Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) and University of Indonesia (UI) and in association with the South East Asia Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (SEAFOMP). This is the first time that the SEACOMP were held in the historical Yogyakarta and the local organizers, led by Dr. Freddy Haryanto is to be congratulated for their hard work in hosting such a successful meeting. 

Yogyakarta was the ancient capital of Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. It is famous for the UNESCO world heritage of Borobudur temple. This temple was built in the 9th Century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty. The temple was designed in Javanese Buddhist architecture. The monument was restored by Indonesian government with UNESCO’s help in the 1975 and 1982.

The congress went on smoothly in the Islamic University. About 241 participants from 13 countries attended the congress. 12 invited speakers delivered 9 plenary lectures as well as four pre-congress workshops. A total of 86 oral and 65 poster presentations were given. A variety of topics were discussed, ranging from the most advanced topics such as proton therapy, image-guided radiotherapy, functional MRI to the more conventional ones such as dose distribution, simulation, dosimetry, quality assurance, etc. 

At the opening ceremony, the organising chairman Dr.rer.nat. Freddy Haryanto remarked that “The 13th SEACOMP 2015 meeting offers a great opportunity to gather, network, and share experiences with colleagues as well as students and professionals from South East Asia and beyond.”

The 10th John Cameron Memorial Lecture entitled “Potential Impact of Computer-Aided Diagnosis in Medical Imaging” was then delivered by Prof. Konio Doi from Department of Radiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 USA and Gunma Prefectural College of Health Sciences, Maebashi, Gunma, 371-0052 Japan. This series of lectures has always been the highlight of the SEACOMP.

Four pre-congress workshops were organized: A workshop on “Education program to medical physicists on nuclear power disaster and risk communication” led by Prof. Chemm Keith Rethy and Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, a workshop on “Medical image engineering approaches for computer-aided diagnosis and radiotherapy” led by Prof. Hidetaka Arimura, a workshop on “Estimation of foetal dose – application to the clinical environment” led by Dr. Donald McLean and the faculty consisting of Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng, Dr. Anchali Krisanachinda, Assist. Prof. Napapong Pongnapang; as well as a refresher course on “Digital Imaging” led by Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng and the faculty consisting of Dr. Chai-Hong Yeong. Assist. Prof. Napapong Pongnapang and Prof. Kwan-Hoong Ng.

The young investigator award was instituted to encourage students to embark on research and to promote the profession of medical physics. 

The best oral presentation for radiotherapy physics went to Hideaki Hirashima, Tanawat Tawonwong and Aninda Fitriandini; best oral presentation for imaging physics and nuclear medicine went to Chonnikan Jongkreangkrai, Muhammad Javad Safari and Anucha Chaichana; best oral presentation for biomedical engineering and biophysics went to Intan Oldakowska and Syarif Husein Sirait; and best poster presentation for radiotherapy went to Komkrit Krongkietlearts, Sitti Yani and Nor Hafizah binti Abdullah; best poster presentation for imaging physics and nuclear medicine went to Nik Nur Nadiah binti Nik Yusoff, Muhammad Nasir and Arinilhaq, best oral presentation for biomedical engineering and biophysics went to Adita Sutresno, Siti Julia and Nita Handayani.

Selected, edited full paper will be published by the IOP Conference Series (Indexed by SCOPUS). 

At the official banquet the participants and guests were treated with by far the most exciting and colorful cultural events, including traditional dances (gambyong dance, Saman dance, Merak dance, Bamboo dance and Nirmala dance) and song performed by the Philippines.

On the whole, the congress was a great success and participants benefited greatly from the educational and networking opportunities offered. 

The combined 18th Asia-Oceania Congress of Medical Physics (AOCMP) and the 16th South-East Asia Congress of Medical Physics (SEACOMP) were successfully held at the Connexion Conference & Event Centre (CCEC), Nexus, Bangsar South City, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 to 14 November 2018.

AOCMP and SEACOMP are both important annual events in medical physics. The congress aimed to gather medical physicists and allied health professionals in the regions for the sharing of knowledge, expertise, scientific discussions, cultural exchange and medical technologies updates. Malaysia last hosted this event in 2004. The theme for this congress is “A Sustainable Future for Medical Physics”. It resonates with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. According to the organizing chairs, a sustainable future of medical physics will be built on these three connected concepts: teamwork, adaptability and leadership. It is important that the medical physics organizations work together, be relevant to current development and constantly train and foster new leaders. The congress has attracted more than 529 delegates
from 40 countries around the world. A whopping 68 renowned speakers from 21 countries spoke at the congress and 300 proffered papers were presented.

The congress was well supported by eight international organizations including International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP),
International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (IUPESM), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), Middle East Federation of Organizations of Medical Physics (MEFOMP), Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology (AOSR) and Japanese Society of Radiological Technology (JSRT); several local organizations and government agencies, universities as well as 32 healthcare industrial partners. Among all, 21 vendors
including book publishers have participated in the onsite trade exhibitions. The Congress also supported charity activities whereby the profits made from selling of hand-made souvenirs by the Mon Refugee Organization will all be donated to the refugees in Malaysia.
The Congress is CME-approved by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia. Participants who attended the 4-day Congress are entitled to claim for 26 CPD points and 9.83 MPCEC points accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP).

The 17th South-East Asia Congress of Medical Physics (SEACOMP) ) was held in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Scientific Meeting on Medical Physics and Biophysics (PITFMB) at Bintang Bali Resort, Bali, Indonesia from 8 to 10 August 2019.  The 17th SEACOMP and 3rd PIT-FMB2019 conference were designed as a platform for exchanging ideas in Medical Physics among Medical Physics community in Indonesia and South East Asian. In addition, this conference was beneficial for updating information, sharing knowledge among of professionals, institutional/university researchers, regulators and medical physicists who working in various hospitals in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. In this conference, the latest developments of global Medical Physics was presented by invited speakers who are researchers and Medical Physics practitioners. This is the fourth time Indonesia is given the honour to host the South-East Asia Congress of Medical Physics (SEACOMP) after years 2006 (Depok), 2010 (Bandung), and 2015 (Yogyakarta). The congress has attracted more than 250 participants from the professions of medical physics, biomedical engineering, radiology, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, radiation protection, biophysics, radiobiology and the related fields. 

The theme for this congress was “Improvement on Patient Care and Safety through the innovation in Medical Physics”. We had a comprehensive scientific programme including talks by eminent speakers, oral paper presentations, poster presentations, panel discussions and some pre-congress workshops that cover most of the disciplines in medical physics, i.e., diagnostic and interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, radiation protection, radiobiology, and new emerging techniques. The proceeding has been published by IOP Journal of Physics Conference Series.

Opening ceremony in picture