Patrick Hill

Biography

I am an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine. My primary role is to provide clinical medical physics services in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the UW Health University Hospital. In the clinic, I perform tasks to ensure that patients are being treated safely and accurately on each day of their treatment. This includes making sure radiation-producing machines are operating correctly and that the quality of a patient’s treatment is maintained from the day they first arrive in our department to the day of their last treatment. I am the lead physicist for the TomoTherapy service and among the primary physics contacts for our radiosurgery program, treatment planning systems, and image processing software.

The radiotherapy process requires a diverse team of physicians, physicists, dosimetrists, therapists, nurses and others. Much of my efforts are focused on improving the ways in which this team can come together and care for patients. I have detailed knowledge of clinical operations along with the hardware and software tools we use on a daily basis. I do things like develop processes to better achieve treatment goals, learn and implement new technology, and design and execute quality assurance tests that ensure our equipment is functioning properly.

Outside the clinic, I am a rotation mentor for our Radiation Oncology Physics Residency program and occasionally teach various physics courses to residents, graduate students, and trainees. I am involved in several research projects in adaptive therapy, particle therapy, and image guidance. These projects span departments within our university as well as at other institutions. I am fortunate to serve in a position where I can combine my love for solving engineering problems with my knowledge and research in radiation physics to ensure patient safety and continually advance patient care.