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

该应用程序的总体目标是在癌症患者的放射治疗期间实现体内剂量测量 给最终用户--医学物理学家。我们的假设是X射线诱导的声波计算机断层扫描 (XACT)可用于患者体内的4D剂量测量。在XACT中，脉冲x射线被吸收并转化为 太热了。由此产生的热弹性膨胀会产生3D声波，可以通过声波检测到 探测器以形成图像。声波的幅度与X射线的吸收成正比，因此 对剂量信息进行编码。我们的总体战略是设计/建造3D XACT剂量扫描仪，并 在临床条件下，基于学术和产业界的合作关系，测试/改进成像原型 俄克拉荷马大学(OU)和PhotoSound Technologies Inc.。我们的具体目标是：(特定目标1) 评价XACT成像在放射治疗剂量学中的基础；(特定目标2)研制三维XACT 用于临床实施的成像系统；以及(具体目标3)验证XACT在 临床情况。这一发现是历史上第一次组织中的辐射剂量可能直接 具有高空间和时间分辨率的可视化。如果成功，定位辐射束的能力和 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.