This month, our User of the Month spotlight takes us to one of my favorite places in Europe—Switzerland. I had the pleasure of reconnecting with an old colleague and long-time Radformation customer, Mauricio Leick. Originally from Brazil, Mauricio has built his career in Aarau at the Radio-Onkologie-Zentrum Mittelland – Kantonsspital Aarau, a large Swiss clinic with 9 radiation oncologists, 11 physicists, 2 dosimetrists, and 15 RTTs. The team treats around 2,000 patients a year across three linacs, including a Varian ETHOS Adaptive Linac, supported by Varian Eclipse, BrainLab Elements, and ETHOS treatment planning systems. Radformation solutions, including ClearCheck and EZFluence play a central role in their workflow.
Automation is now central to their clinical practice. The journey began in 2019 with a project to streamline plan evaluations and improve efficiency in chart rounds. “We brought together physicians, physicists, and dosimetrists to integrate our internal plan evaluation standards into ClearCheck, creating a more consistent and protocol-driven approach across the department.” Today, ClearCheck plays a vital role in daily chart rounds, where every plan is presented alongside its relevant dose-constraint protocol. This ensures consistency and adherence to departmental standards while facilitating informed decision-making.
When reflecting on the impact of automation, Mauricio emphasizes the gains in efficiency and accuracy. With ClearCheck, the team has achieved far greater consistency in plan evaluation. This has reduced the need for re-planning due to discrepancies in directives and improved the overall quality of treatment plans presented at review. Among the features ClearCheck offers, Mauricio particularly values those not available in conventional treatment planning systems. “ClearCheck allows us to convert and evaluate EQD2Gy for plan sums that include prior treatments. It also gives us the option to incorporate multiple image registrations and select the specific 3DCT registration for a given plan sum, adding flexibility and precision that greatly enhance the evaluation process.”
For breast workflows, EZFluence has been a game-changer. In the past, 3D plan optimization in Eclipse could be very time-consuming. According to Mauricio, EZFluence has streamlined this process, making planning more efficient and consistent. It has also proven valuable in 3D conformal plans with extended SSD, where the Field-in-Field technique improves dose homogeneity.
Looking back, Mauricio credits the success of their implementation to close collaboration with the Radformation European team. “Their timely support, deep understanding of the tools, and dedication to helping us fully leverage the software’s capabilities have been key to the successful implementation in our department,” he notes.
One of the key lessons from Mauricio’s experience is the importance of engaging the whole multidisciplinary team in the process of protocol development and planning standardization. The motivation and active involvement of the physicians, physicists, and dosimetrists at Aarau played a crucial role in successfully commissioning and integrating ClearCheck and EZFluence into their workflows. He is quick to recognize the contribution of his dosimetry team, whose 40 years of combined experience in treatment planning provided invaluable insight. Their ability to blend historical knowledge with current protocols has helped ensure that the department’s standards remain robust, consistent, and efficient, further strengthened by the use of ClearCheck.
Outside the clinic, Mauricio enjoys all that Switzerland has to offer. “It’s a privilege to live in a country with so many opportunities to escape into nature,” he says. He enjoys hiking in the mountains and exploring the charm of small Swiss villages, where local culture is woven into everyday life. Before his career in physics, Mauricio began as a software developer, and the passion has never left him. He still enjoys coding and developing small software tools whenever he can. “I love exploring creative solutions through software,” he reflects, recalling nights when he couldn’t sleep until every bug was fixed and the code worked perfectly.
When it comes to travel, Mauricio gravitates toward the sun. “The beaches and natural beauty of Brazil are fabulous for a summer trip,” he says. With one of the world’s longest coastlines, Brazil offers everything from vibrant city beaches to quiet, untouched paradises. His favorite destination is Florianópolis, a small city in southern Brazil with more than 50 beaches. Food is another of his passions. He delights in trying new recipes and cuisines, but he especially enjoys the traditional dishes of Switzerland’s Italian and French regions. When visiting southern Brazil, he embraces his gaucho roots with churrasco, the famous barbecue tradition of his homeland.
Mauricio enjoying a hike through the stunning Swiss mountains where the views never disappoint.
These photos were taken in the Valle du Trient region (canton of Valais), near the border with France and Italy.