Bill J. Salter, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments: Radiation Oncology - Professor

Academic Office Information

Bill.Salter@hci.utah.edu

Board Certification

  • American Board of Radiology (Therapeutic Radiologic Physics)

Research Interests

  • Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT)
  • Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS)
  • Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)
  • Motion Management in Radiation Therapy
  • Ultrasound Guided Radiation Therapy
  • Optimization in Radiation Therapy

Bill J. Salter, PhD is a tenured Professor and Chief of the Division of Medical Physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Utah School of Medicine and Senior Director of Radiation Oncology at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). He designed and directs the radiation oncology resident training in the medical physics of imaging, treatment planning, and treatment delivery.



Dr. Salter received a PhD in medical physics from the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio and is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) in Therapuetic Radiologic Physics. Before joining HCI, he held dual faculty appointments in both Radiology and Radiation Oncology, and was the Director of Medical Physics at the University of Texas Health Science Center's Cancer Therapy and Research Center, in San Antonio.

Dr. Salter is a member of several national task groups that define standards of practice for safe delivery of radiation treatment, including CT virtual simulation, ultrasound image guidance, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). He also serves as an Examiner in Therapeutic Radiologic Physics for the ABR. He is a member of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) Emerging Technologies Committee and is an associate editor for both the Journal of Medical Physics, and the Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics. Dr. Salter also serves as a member of the University of Utah's Radiation Safety Committee and is the Departmental Academic Committee (DAC) chair for the Department of Radiation Oncology.

Dr. Salter holds multiple patents on technology used for the delivery of serial tomotherapy IMRT. In 1996, Dr. Salter implemented one of the world’s first IMRT programs at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. In 1998, he supervised the delivery of some of the first intensity modulated radiosurgery (IMRS) treatments.

With more than $1,000,000 in past and present research grant funds, Dr. Salter's research interests include stereotactic body radiation therapy, ultrasound image guidance, and 4D imaging and motion management techniques in radiation therapy.

Education History

Doctoral Training University of Texas Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Medical Physics 		Ph.D.
Undergraduate University of Houston
Applied Math Science-Engineering 		B.S.

Selected Publications

  1. Sarkar V, Paxton A, Su F, Price R, Nelson G, Szegedi M, James SS, Salter BJ (2023). An evaluation of the use of DirectSPR images for proton planning in the RayStation treatment planning software. J Appl Clin Med Phys, e13900.
  2. Weintraub SM, Salter BJ, Chevalier CL, Ransdell S (2021). Human factor associations with safety events in radiation therapy. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 22(10), 288-294.
  3. Huang YJ, Sarkar V, Paxton A, Zhao H, Su FF, Price R, Salter BJ (2021). An Investigation of Radiation Treatment Learning Opportunities in Relation to the Radiation Oncology Electronic Medical Record: A Single Institution Experience. Adv Radiat Oncol, 7(1), 100812.
  4. Szegedi M, Sarkar V, Paxton A, Rassiah P, Salter BJ (2021). Seismic reinforcement of a linac installation. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 22(4), 166-171.
  5. Zhao H, Paxton A, Sarkar V, Huang YJ, Frances Su FC, Haacke C, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Szegedi M, Salter B (2020). Prevention of Radiation Therapy Treatment Deviations by a Novel Combined Biometric, Radiofrequency Identification, and Surface Imaging System. Pract Radiat Oncol, 11(2), e229-e235.
  6. Nelson G, Paxton A, Kunz J, Huang J, Szegedi M, Sarkar V, Salter B (2020). FMEA occurrence values for four failure modes occurring using look-up tables for dose calculations. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 22(2), 9-12.
  7. Sarkar V, Szegedi M, Paxton A, Nelson G, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Reddy CB, Tao R, Hitchcock YJ, Kokeny KE, Salter BJ (2020). Erratum: "Preliminary clinical experience with Calypso anchored beacons for tumor tracking in lung SBRT" [Med. Phys. (2020)]. Med Phys (48(1), p. 533). United States.
  8. Sarkar V, Lloyd S, Paxton A, Dial C, Rassiah P, Szegedi MW, Hitchcock YJ, Salter BJ (2021). Evaluation of the dosimetric impact of changes in shoulder position on target coverage for spine SBRT to metastases in the lower cervical spine region. J Radiosurg SBRT, 7(4), 321-328.
  9. Szegedi M, Boehm C, Paxton A, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Sarkar V, Zhao H, Su F, Kokeny KE, Lloyd S, Tward J, Salter BJ (2020). Comparison of transperineal ultrasound image guidance technique to transabdominal technique for prostate radiation therapy. Med Phys, 47(12), 6113-6121.
  10. Paxton AB, Sarkar V, Kunz JN, Szegedi M, Zhao H, Huang YJ, Nelson G, Rassiah P, Su FF, Salter BJ (2020). Evaluation of the effects of implementing a diode transmission device into the clinical workflow. Phys Med, 80, 335-341.
  11. Sarkar V, Szegedi M, Paxton A, Nelson G, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Reddy CB, Tao R, Hitchcock YJ, Kokeny KE, Salter BJ (2020). Preliminary clinical experience with Calypso anchored beacons for tumor tracking in lung SBRT. Med Phys, 47(9), 4407-4415.
  12. Rassiah P, Su FF, Huang YJ, Spitznagel D, Sarkar V, Szegedi MW, Zhao H, Paxton AB, Nelson G, Salter BJ (2020). Using failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to generate an initial plan check checklist for improved safety in radiation treatment. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 21(8), 83-91.
  13. Su FF, Huang YJ, Rassiah P, Salter BJ (2020). FMEA-guided transition from microSelectron to Flexitron for HDR brachytherapy. Brachytherapy, 19(2), 241-248.
  14. Sarkar V, Paxton A, Rassiah P, Kokeny KE, Hitchcock YJ, Salter BJ (2020). Evaluation of dose distribution differences from five algorithms implemented in three commercial treatment planning systems for lung SBRT. J Radiosurg SBRT, 7(1), 57-66.
  15. Zhao H, Williams N, Poppe M, Sarkar V, Wang B, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Huang YJ, Kokeny K, Gaffney D, Salter B (2019). Comparison of surface guidance and target matching for image-guided accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI). Med Phys, 46(11), 4717-4724.
  16. Sarkar V, Paxton A, Kunz J, Szegedi M, Nelson G, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Zhao H, Huang YJ, Su F, Salter BJ (2019). A systematic evaluation of the error detection abilities of a new diode transmission detector. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 20(9), 122-132.
  17. Zhao H, Sarkar V, Wang B, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Szegedi M, Jessica Huang Y, Huang L, Tward J, Salter B (2019). Calculation of delivered composite dose from Calypso tracking data for prostate cancer: And subsequent evaluation of reasonable treatment interruption tolerance limits. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 20(8), 105-113.
  18. Gonzalez VJ, Hullett CR, Burt L, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Sarkar V, Tward JD, Hazard LJ, Huang YJ, Salter BJ (2017). Impact of prone versus supine positioning on small bowel dose with pelvic intensity modulated radiation therapy. Adv Radiat Oncol, 2(2), 235-243.
  19. Salter BJ, Szegedi M, Boehm C, Sarkar V, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Wang B, Zhao H, Huang J, Huang L, Kokeny K, Tward JD (2017). Comparison of 2 transabdominal ultrasound image guidance techniques for prostate and prostatic fossa radiation therapy. Pract Radiat Oncol, 7(2), e99-e107.
  20. Ahmed F, Sarkar V, Gaffney DK, Salter B, Poppe MM (2016). Analysis of nodal coverage utilizing image guided radiation therapy for primary gynecologic tumor volumes. Med Dosim, 41(3), 195-8.
  21. Zhao H, Wang B, Sarkar V, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Huang YJ, Szegedi M, Huang L, Gonzalez V, Salter B (2016). Comparison of surface matching and target matching for image-guided pelvic radiation therapy for both supine and prone patient positions. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 17(3), 14-24.
  22. Huang YJ, Harrison A, Sarkar V, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Zhao H, Szegedi M, Huang L, Wilson B, Gaffney DK, Salter BJ (2016). Detection of late radiation damage on left atrial fibrosis using cardiac late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging. Adv Radiat Oncol, 1(2), 106-114.
  23. Joshi SC, Hinkle J, Salter BJ, Fletcher PT, Wang B (2014). 4D Space Time Organ Motion Estimation from Time Stamped Data. U.S. Patent No. 8,824,756. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  24. De Los Santos J, Popple R, Agazaryan N, Bayouth JE, Bissonnette JP, Bucci MK, Dieterich S, Dong L, Forster KM, Indelicato D, Langen K, Lehmann J, Mayr N, Parsai I, Salter B, Tomblyn M, Yuh WT, Chetty IJ (2013). Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) technologies for radiotherapy localization and delivery. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 87(1), 33-45.
  25. Szegedi M, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Sarkar V, Hinkle J, Wang B, Huang YH, Zhao H, Joshi S, Salter BJ (2012). Tissue characterization using a phantom to validate four-dimensional tissue deformation. Med Phys, 39(10), 6065-70.
  26. Hinkle J, Szegedi M, Wang B, Salter B, Joshi S (2012). 4D CT image reconstruction with diffeomorphic motion model. Med Image Anal, 16(6), 1307-16.
  27. Sarkar V, Wang B, Hinkle J, Gonzalez VJ, Hitchcock YJ, Rassiah-Szegedi P, Joshi S, Salter BJ (2012). Dosimetric evaluation of a "virtual" image-guidance alternative to explicit 6 degree of freedom robotic couch correction. Pract Radiat Oncol, 2(2), 122-37.
  28. Rassiah-Szegedi P, Wang B, Szegedi M, Tward J, Zhao H, Huang YJ, Sarkar V, Shrieve D, Salter B (2011). Individualized margins for prostate patients using a wireless localization and tracking system. J Appl Clin Med Phys, 12(3), 3516.
  29. Fuss M, Salter BJ, Cavanaugh SX, Fuss C, Sadeghi A, Fuller CD, Ameduri A, Hevezi JM, Herman TS, Thomas CR Jr (2004). Daily ultrasound-based image-guided targeting for radiotherapy of upper abdominal malignancies. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 59(4), 1245-56.
  30. Salter B (2003). Tomotherapy Treatment Table Positioning Device. U.S. Patent No. United States Patent # 6,634,790. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  31. Salter B (2003). Tomotherapy Treatment Table Positioning Device. Australian Patent No. # 754603.
  32. Salter B (2000). Tomotherapy Treatment Table Positioning Device. U.S. Patent No. United States Patent #6,152,599. Washington, D.C.:U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.