University of Lincoln research team received £1.6 M Translation Award from the Wellcome Trust for establishing better and effective radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients. Patients undergoing proton therapy will benefit from the unique monitoring and imaging techniques.
Proton therapy can produce high doses of radiation targeting the tumor site, although healthy tissue absorbs just a small amount of radiation. This procedure is effective for children suffering from cancer and for those whose tumors that are proximal to the vital structures of the body. Two new proton therapy centers will be constructed which have been authorized by the UK government.
Pravda, the new three-year long research project, will use University of Lincoln-made unique imaging sensors, combined with University of Liverpool-made detectors that are deployed in the Large Hadron Collider for detecting the Higgs Boson.
In addition to providing precise measurements of the therapy dose, Pravda will generate 3D images of the location of radiation absorption at a tumor site, leading to more effectual and rapid treatments.
A team of worldwide medical physicists, instrumentation scientists, and oncologists have been assembled by Prof. Allinson to develop exceptional proton detectors capable of delivering precise information on proton beam’s dose, profile, and energy at the time of treatment. Furthermore, individual proton tracks will be recorded by the new detectors, creating full 3D images of the interaction of proton with the tumor.
Previously, Prof. Allinson created the world’s largest silicon chip for effective medical imaging, which paved way for this project. At present, around 100 NHS patients need to travel overseas to receive proton therapy, but by 2015, around 1,500 patients are anticipated to be treated in the UK following the establishment of new government-approved centres. Around 40 proton therapy treatment centres have already been established, while 30 are underway.
Source: http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/
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