Dr. Faddegon’s research goal is to improve accuracy and precision in radiotherapy through cost-effective solutions to improve the therapeutic ratio. This will allow for more aggressive treatment in sites where side effects, local control, and even metastases are a problem. The National Institute of Health (NIH) has fully funded Dr. Faddegon’s project to help establish Monte Carlo, a highly accurate method of radiation transport, as a critical tool in radiotherapy, including treatment planning. Related projects include adding electrons to intensity-modulated radiotherapy with x-rays, using Monte Carlo methods for dose calculation, and establishing fast means of dose calculation for depth penetration and output calculation using the accurate beam models developed for the NIH project. Dr. Faddegon is also working to establish image-guided radiotherapy with portal imaging for more precise targeting of tumors and avoidance of critical structures.

Dr. Faddegon’s clinical responsibility is physics support of linear accelerators (linacs). This includes management, installation, commissioning, maintenance and quality assurance (QA), along with supervision of engineers and physicists. At UCSF, Dr. Faddegon commissioned Total Body Irradiation on several linacs, developing the means to treat the whole body over a short distance (3 meters). He also developed new targets to resolve a water leakage problem, implemented high precision graticules for patient localization, commissioned a missing tissue compensator system, and determined the means to detect and correct defective circuitry he discovered in treatments using virtual wedges. He is currently working on implementing a new, more accurate and efficient system for electron output calculation. He routinely consults for Intraoperative Radiotherapy, special procedures, electron treatment, and dose calculation in complex treatments including those where dose delivery is influenced by air cavities, bone, and prosthesis.