Academic-Industry Partnership for the Translation of a 4D in vivo Dosimetry Approach for Radiation Therapy

本应用程序的总体目标是在癌症患者放射治疗期间进行体内剂量测定 到最终用户-医学物理学家。我们的假设是，X射线诱导的声学计算机断层扫描 （XACT）可用于患者的4D体内剂量测定。在XACT中，脉冲X射线被吸收并转换为 热所产生的热弹性膨胀产生3D声波，其可以通过声学方法检测到。 探测器以形成图像。声波的振幅与X射线吸收成比例，因此 对剂量信息进行编码。我们的总体策略是设计/构建3D XACT剂量测定扫描仪， 在临床条件下测试/完善成像原型，基于学术-工业合作伙伴关系， 俄克拉荷马州大学（俄克拉荷马州）和PhotoSound技术公司。我们的具体目标是：（具体目标1） 评价XACT成像在放射治疗剂量学中的基础;（具体目标2）开发三维XACT 用于临床实施的成像系统;以及（具体目标3）在以下条件下验证XACT的性能 临床条件。这一发现是历史上第一次，组织中的辐射剂量可以直接 具有高空间和时间分辨率。如果成功，定位辐射束的能力， 绘制辐射剂量图将实现向高精度放射治疗的范式转变。

The Overall Objective of this application is to enable in vivo dosimetry during radiation therapy in cancer patient to the end-user– the medical physicist. Our Hypothesis is that X-ray-induced Acoustic Computed tomography (XACT) can be used for 4D in vivo dosimetry in patients. In XACT, pulsed x-rays are absorbed and converted to heat. The resulting thermoelastic expansion generates a 3D acoustic wave, which can be detected by acoustic detectors to form images. The amplitude of the acoustic waves is proportional to X-ray absorption, and therefore encodes dose information. Our overall strategy is to design/construct a 3D XACT dosimetric scanner, and to test/refine the imaging prototype under clinical conditions based on an Academic-Industrial partnership between University of Oklahoma (OU) and PhotoSound Technologies Inc. Our specific aims are: (Specific aim 1) Evaluate the basis of the XACT imaging in radiotherapy dosimetry; (Specific aim 2) Develop a 3D XACT imaging system for clinical implementation; and (Specific aim 3) Validate the performance of XACT under clinical conditions. This discovery is the first time in history that radiation dose in tissue could be directly visualized with high spatial and temporal resolution. If successful, the ability to localize the radiation beam and map the radiation dose will enable a paradigm shift towards high-precision radiotherapy.