The ACPSEM Foundation, better known as the “Better Healthcare Technology Foundation (BHTF)”, aims to support initiatives in physics, engineering and associated sciences that promote the safe and appropriate use of medical technology. At the core of the Foundation is a goal to foster initiatives in medical technologies that improve patient care and community outcomes. A major focus is on supporting innovations in the safe and effective use of radiation in diagnostic and therapeutic techniques that directly benefit patients throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific.
The Foundation has maintained a low activity profile over the past 18 months to develop a plan to modify its operations. The plan, titled Future Proof, proposes a revised grassroots-based operational model that utilises knowledge and resources from the College’s Groups environment to connect the Foundation’s activities with the normal operations of the College’s various disciplines.
Director Lyn Oliver stepped down from the Board in 2023 and recently passed away. The Board gratefully acknowledges Lyn's years of outstanding dedication and commitment to the BHTF cause since its inception.
The Asia-Pacific Special Interest Group (APSIG), in collaboration with the BHTF, has continued supporting the training and education of Medical Physicists in Papua / New Guinea through remote tutorials and treatment planning sessions facilitated by APSIG volunteers using Varian’s online learning platform, featuring the Eclipse treatment planning system. This initiative will expand in June 2025 with the opening of the national cancer centre in Ulaanbaatar, incorporating similar online training sessions with other APSIG volunteers.
The Foundation has also commenced a volunteer Medical Physics trainer assignment in Cambodia (ACPSEM member and certified ROMP Alison Chapman) in April 2025 for the new cancer centre at Luang Me Hospital in Phnom Penh, where a single Varian linear accelerator was commissioned.
Lastly, the Foundation coordinated with the IAEA in Laos to support the country’s only radiotherapy centre at Mittaphab Hospital, where no suitably qualified physicist has been available since August 2024. Three ACPSEM-certified ROMPs recruited by APSIG provided the necessary physics services to ensure the safe delivery of radiotherapy to patients according to the required standards. Funding w??