As we prepare to celebrate Dosimetrist Day this month, we're delighted to highlight Mihai Ene, a passionate medical dosimetrist at the Pacific Cancer Institute of Maui. From the beautiful state of Hawaii, Mihai's clinic may be on the smaller side, but it delivers high-quality care, with automation playing an important role in their daily operations.
Reflecting on his journey with Radformation's solutions, Mihai shares, "We are a small clinic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean delivering high quality care. We have very high plan quality standards and a large volume of complex, time and resource-intensive plans. Initially, ClearCheck was only meant to be a time-saving solution for documentation of IMRT plan results, but it quickly proved to be indispensable in every aspect of treatment planning, plan review, treatment preparation, peer review, and R&V documentation."
Recently, Mihai explained how ClearCheck proved to be invaluable in a challenging case, efficiently analyzing "253 total plan metrics, 32 plan checks, 26 structure checks, 19 collision checks, 9 prescription checks, and 16 treatment prep checks in a matter of seconds." ClearCheck also facilitates the analysis of large amounts of data from their plans so that Mihai and his physicist, Martin, can incorporate it into their quality improvement projects.
Mihai has a soft spot for EZFluence, stating, "There’s not much more that I can say about EZFluence that hasn’t already been said by many others. It’s all in the name!" This tool has become a go-to for quickly generating "high-quality fluence patterns in a fraction of the time," and one that Mihai uses for all of their breast and chest wall cases, as well as most of the other 3D cases.
One of the things Mihai appreciates most about Radformation is the continuous evolution and improvement of its software. He shares, "The updates are always helpful, thoughtful, and meaningful. It's obvious that Radformation is very receptive to feedback from customers. Also, the Support team has always been a pleasure to work with. Their enthusiasm and passion for quality is evident. They know they’re part of something special."
"I imagine that AutoContour was one the most anticipated Rad solutions among dosimetrists. It was for me, and it did not disappoint." AutoContour has helped Mihai generate quality contours faster as well as quickly generate optimization structures. He explains his new workflow, "I have moved completely away from structure templates in the planning system in favor of AutoContour." One feature of AutoContour that Mihai particularly likes, is that the structure models are updated without needing a full software upgrade or user intervention, allowing access to the most up-to-date models upon simply launching the software.
Beyond the technical aspects, Mihai highlights the positive impact on his daily work life. "Radformation has minimized the time I spend on repetitive tasks and given me more time to focus on the critical parts of treatment planning," he says. This efficiency boost has helped him create higher-quality plans with fewer errors.
On a lighter note, Mihai enjoys the little touches that make his workday brighter, like the jokes during EZFluence loading times. He also finds the Plan Comparison tool in ClearCheck and the Keep Every "N" Slices tool in AutoContour to be particularly useful.
As we honor Mihai Ene on Dosimetrist Day, his story reminds us of the vital role dosimetrists play in patient care and the importance of having efficient tools to support their work. His dedication and passion for improving patient outcomes through innovative technology make him a standout in our Radformation community.
Mihai graciously wanted to share an acknowledgment with his team for this feature. "I am grateful to be part of an amazing radiation oncology team at PCI. In regard to my experience with Radformation, I would like to thank our administrator, Benton Turner, who immediately saw its value and introduced it to our clinic when it first appeared many years ago. I would also like to thank our awesome physicist Martin Hinse who is constantly helping me get the very best out of all the Radformation tools."
In his free time, Mihai loves spending time with his family and exploring beautiful Maui. Some of his favorite activities are surfing, paddle boarding, body boarding, hiking, and geocaching.