STAFF PROFILE
Professor Rick Franich
Position:
Professor
College / Portfolio:
School of Science Cluster
School / Department:
Physics
Phone:
99253390
Email:
rick.franich@rmit.edu.au
Campus:
Melbourne City Campus
Contact me about:
Research supervision
Research area
Medical Physics, Radiation, Health Physics
Research activities
Research Interests
- Dosimetric Modelling in Radiotherapy
- Characterisation of External Beam and Brachytherapy sources for Radiotherapy
- Monte Carlo simulation of radiation transport with applications to Ion Beam Analysis
- Heavy Ion Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis of surfaces and thin films
- Gamma Ray Spectroscopy of lung burdens in workers involved in the mining and milling of radioactive ores
Research projects
- Radiation Delivery to a Moving Target - RMIT Institute for Sustainable Health and Well-Being project conducted in collaboration with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
- Characterisation and Improvement of Radiation Beams used for Radiotherapy of Small Lesions. -Australian Research Council Linkage Project conducted jointly by RMIT and the William Buckland Radiotherapy Centre at The Alfred Hospital.
- In vivo Assessment of Radiation Dose from Inhalation of Radioactive Dust in the Mining and Milling of Radioactive Ores. - Australian Research Council Linkage Project conducted jointly by RMIT and the Australian Radiation Protection And Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
Accomplishments
Grants and awards
- 2007 RMIT Emerging Researcher Grant.
Consultancy
- Consultant to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) advisory group to direct the activities of the IAEA Coordinated Research Project: Improvement of the Reliability and Accuracy of Heavy Ion Beam Nuclear Analytical Techniques.
Teaching awards
- 2007 Nominated for Student’s Choice Teaching Award as part of the SET Pro-Vice Chancellor's Teaching Quality Awards
- 2005 Student’s Choice Teaching Award nominee
- 1999 Lecturer of the Year Award (2nd year) from the RMIT Physics Students Association
- Program Coordinator: Master of Applied Science (Medical and Health Physics)
- Course Coordinator: PHYS2089 Medical Imaging Physics; PHYS2090 Radiation Physics and Radiation Protection; PHYS2092 Radiation Transport Modelling and Radiotherapy Physics
- Lecturer: PHYS2076 Quantum Mechanics and Radiation Physics; PHYS1083 Advanced Laboratory Techniques; PHYS2074 Photonics and Nuclear Physics
- Previous: Radiation Laboratory Techniques, Classical Mechanics, Optics Laboratory; Medical Radiations Courses: Nuclear Medicine Technology, Radiological Imaging Technology, Medical Radiation Technology; Service Physics (for students of external departments and faculties): Instrumentation, Radiation and Thermodynamics, Satellite Physics, Optics, Mechanics.
- Bachelor of Science with Honours – Applied Mathematics, La Trobe University, 1989
- Diploma of Education, La Trobe University, 1991
- Doctor of Philosophy (Applied Physics), RMIT University, 2007
- Smith, R.,Hanlon, M.,Panettieri, V.,Millar, J.,Matheson, B.,Haworth, A.,Franich, R. (2018). An integrated system for clinical treatment verification of HDR prostate brachytherapy combining source tracking with pretreatment imaging In: Brachytherapy, 17, 111 - 121
- Gagliardi, F.,Day, L.,Poole, C.,Franich, R.,Geso, M. (2018). Water equivalent PRESAGE� for synchrotron radiation therapy dosimetry: In: Medical Physics, 45, 1255 - 1265
- Lonski, P.,Kron, T.,Taylor, M.,Phipps, A.,Franich, R.,Chua, B. (2018). Assessment of leakage dose in vivo in patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer In: Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology, 5, 97 - 101
- Gagliardi, F.,Franich, R.,Geso, M. (2018). Dose response and stability of water equivalent PRESAGE� dosimeters for synchrotron radiation therapy dosimetry In: Physics in Medicine and Biology, 63, 1 - 9
- Keehan, S.,Smith, R.,Millar, J.,Esser, M.,Taylor, M.,Lonski, P.,Kron, T.,Franich, R. (2017). Activation of hip prostheses in high energy radiotherapy and resultant dose to nearby tissue In: Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, 18, 100 - 105
- Lonski, P.,Keehan, S.,Siva, S.,Pham, D.,Franich, R.,Taylor, M.,Kron, T. (2017). Out-of-field in vivo dosimetry using TLD in SABR for primary kidney cancer involving mixed photon fields In: Physica Medica, 37, 9 - 15
- Smith, R.,Haworth, A.,Panettieri, V.,Millar, J.,Franich, R. (2017). 3D catheter reconstruction in HDR prostate brachytherapy for pre-treatment verification using a flat panel detector In: Physica Medica, 39, 121 - 131
- Kupfer, T.,Lehmann, J.,Butler, D.,Ramanathan, G.,Wright, T.,Franich, R. (2017). Commissioning of a PTW 34070 large-area plane-parallel ionization chamber for small field megavoltage photon dosimetry In: Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, 18, 206 - 217
- Lonski, P.,Ramachandran, P.,Franich, R.,Kron, T. (2017). Surface dose measurements in and out of field: Implications for breast radiotherapy with megavoltage photon beams In: Zeitschrift fur Medizinische Physik, 27, 318 - 323
- Keehan, S.,Taylor, M.,Smith, R.,Dunn, L.,Kron, T.,Franich, R. (2016). Dose and gamma-ray spectra from neutron-induced radioactivity in medical linear accelerators following high-energy total body irradiation In: Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 172, 327 - 332
- Establishment of Department of Health Associate Professor of Medical Physics. Funded by: Department of Health (State of Victoria) Contract from (2013 to 2018)
- Radiation oncology medical physics conjoint academic posts. Administered by University of Sydney. Funded by: Department of Health and Ageing Contract from (2013 to 2014)
- The national medical physics university network. Administered by University of Sydney. Funded by: Department of Health and Ageing Contract from (2013 to 2014)
- Real-time treatment verification system for high dose rate brachytherapy treatment of prostate cancer. Funded by: Department of Health and Ageing Contract from (2010 to 2014)
- Improvement of radiotherapy using hardened-beam imaging. Funded by: The CASS Foundation Science and Medicine Grant pre-2014 from (2010 to 2010)
Note: Supervision projects since 2004
6 PhD Current Supervisions and 1 Masters by Research Current Supervisions7 PhD Completions and 15 Masters by Research Completions
Medical and Radiotherapy Physics, radiation transport modelling, Health Physics, Ion Beam Analysis