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过程中实现体内剂量测定 最终用户——医学物理学家。我们的假设是 X 射线诱导声学计算机断层扫描 (XACT) 可用于患者体内 4D 剂量测定。在 XACT 中，脉冲 X 射线被吸收并转换为 热量。由此产生的热弹性膨胀会产生 3D 声波，可通过声学检测到 探测器形成图像。声波的振幅与 X 射线吸收成正比，因此 编码剂量信息。我们的总体策略是设计/构建 3D XACT 剂量扫描仪，并 基于学术与工业之间的合作关系，在临床条件下测试/完善成像原型 俄克拉荷马大学 (OU) 和 PhotoSound Technologies Inc. 我们的具体目标是：（具体目标 1） 评估XACT成像在放射治疗剂量测定中的基础； （具体目标2）开发3D XACT 用于临床实施的成像系统； （具体目标 3）验证 XACT 的性能 临床情况。这一发现是历史上第一次可以直接测量组织中的辐射剂量。 以高空间和时间分辨率可视化。如果成功的话，能够定位辐射束并 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.