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Texas Center for Proton Therapy Names Dr. Chang Director of Physics

Renowned medical physicist joins DFW’s first proton therapy treatment facility.


IRVING, Texas — Chang Chang, Ph.D., a renowned leader in proton therapy medical physics, has been named director of physics at Texas Center for Proton Therapy. In his new role, Dr. Chang will oversee the physics program at Texas Center for Proton Therapy’s innovative, latest-generation proton therapy.

Previously, as senior medical physicist at ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Somerset, N.J., Dr. Chang was involved in the commissioning of new proton technology, including pencil-beam scanning treatment, and RayStation treatment planning system for both passive and pencil-beam scanning proton treatments, the same types of proton therapy available at Texas Center for Proton Therapy.

“Dr. Chang fills a critical role,” said Dr. Steve Paulson, chairman and president of Texas Oncology. “His experience with pencil-beam scanning underscores our strength in this highly specialized area of proton therapy,” he said. “We look forward to Dr. Chang’s continued leadership in the field and in further advancing Texas Center for Proton Therapy’s leading-edge proton technology.”

Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment that delivers precisely targeted radiation to tumors, with the goals of minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue, reducing side effects, and improving quality of life during and after treatment. Dallas/Fort Worth is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S., which was without a proton therapy treatment facility. The new center is expected to treat its first patients in late 2015.

Texas Center for Proton Therapy is one of only a few centers in the nation — and the only one in Texas — offering pencil-beam scanning in conjunction with on-board cone-beam computed tomography. This technology gives clinicians a 3-D view of a patient’s anatomy for more precise treatment. Pencil-beam scanning uses a precise ultra-fine proton beams across each layer of the tumor. It’s an ideal technology for irregularly shaped tumors near sensitive areas.

“I am excited to join Texas Center for Proton Therapy and utilize my experience to help treat patients with the latest-generation proton therapy technology,” said Dr. Chang, director of physics at Texas Center for Proton Therapy.

At ProCure, Dr. Chang supervised the operation of patient-specific quality assurance. He has also written numerous software programs to facilitate the clinical workflow of a proton center, including automated beam parameter extraction for pencil-beam scanning proton commissioning, analytic MU calculation for passive-scattered beams, automatic collision detection, and 3D gamma criterion for pencil-beam scanning proton therapy quality assurance. These technical achievements improve patient safety and increase clinical efficiency and effectiveness.

“Dr. Chang’s hire sends a resounding message to potential patients that Texas Center for Proton Therapy is committed to delivering the best care, with the best expertise the field has to offer,” said Dr. Andrew Lee, medical director of Texas Center for Proton Therapy.

Dr. Chang received his doctorate in electrical engineering and computer sciences from the University of California at Berkeley and completed his residency in medical physics at the University of Pennsylvania. He also is board certified by the American Board of Radiology. Dr. Chang began his clinical training as a medical physics fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and was involved in several proton therapy research projects. Dr. Chang had also served on the faculty of biomedical engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa. He has co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and book chapters in his research and received numerous state and private grants funding his research.

About Texas Center for Proton Therapy

Texas Center for Proton Therapy is the North Texas region’s first proton therapy center. The center features latest-generation technology, including pencil-beam scanning and image-guided proton therapy, providing precise radiation treatment with the opportunity to reduce side effects. Texas Oncology and The US Oncology Network, supported by McKesson Specialty Health, and Baylor Health Enterprises, an affiliate of Baylor Health Care System, collaborated to develop a proton therapy facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Opened in 2015, the facility provides advanced cancer treatment through Texas Oncology, an independent oncology practice and pioneer of community-based cancer care. For more information, visit www.TexasCenterforProtonTherapy.com or call 469-513-5500.

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