Radiotherapy (RT) plays a growing, well established role in the management of cancer disease in modern societies. Nevertheless, it is also well known that even with newer, state-of-the-art machinery delivering highly conformal RT, effective cure rates or minimization of toxicity still present today margins for improvement. With the aim of improving further the efficacy of external photon beam RT, LIP has been exploring within this research line the capability of using orthogonal ray imaging systems to monitor to some extent both the dose that is being delivered to the patient (RTmonitor) as well as its morphology within the irradiated field (OrthoCT). In this way, simulations and experimental work have shown (see Fig.) that pertinent dose-changing morphological or physiological alterations may be detected, which results in important information for assisting and potentially improving RT treatments. In the photon RT field, LIP collaborates tightly with the University of Coimbra, the Oncology Institute of Coimbra (IPOCFG,EPE), the Department of Radiotherapy of Coimbra University Hospital Center (CHUC, EPE), and with the Oncology Institute of Porto (IPOPFG,EPE). Several expert members are now fully supported with master and postdoc fellowships granted by the Radiation for Life project. This 1.2-million-Euro funded project was proposed within a tight collaboration between LIP and the University of Coimbra. Upon successful approval for funding, the project deployed in the Summer of 2013. One of its research lines is this orthogonal ray imaging initiative. In the context of particle therapy (protons and carbon ions), orthogonal ray imaging may also be called prompt-gamma imaging since here escaping photons are gamma rays created in excited nuclei during the interactions of the incoming projectiles with the atomic nuclei of the patient. In this context LIP is actively collaborating with the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, with the Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center, in Germany, and with the University of Munich, also in Germany.

Photos

Contacts

Group Leader:  

Paulo Crespo

crespo@lip.pt