SBIR Innovative Concept Award - Detection, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention and Research of Pediatric Cancers and/or Rare Cancers.

将开发一种带有准直器和药物输送方法的紧凑型中子源，允许辐射直接到达脑桥的癌细胞，同时将对健康组织和器官的剂量降至最低。在传统的放射治疗中，弥漫性桥脑内脑胶质瘤的主要姑息治疗方法是健康细胞和癌细胞所接受的剂量大致相同。这会暂时减缓肿瘤的生长，但必须停止放射治疗，以限制对健康组织的损害。硼中子俘获疗法(BNCT)是一种放射疗法，可以提供更有针对性的癌细胞破坏，同时将健康组织损害降至最低。一种新的紧凑型中子发生器与中子镜相结合，可以将中子直接输送到脑桥，并通过精确的硼输送，导致特定的癌细胞被摧毁。为了提供更定向的肿瘤体积和细胞特异性靶向，我们提出了一种紧凑型中子发生器，集成了光谱和体积整形输送光学装置，以最小的侵入性将热中子引导到体内的脑桥。输送到癌细胞的硼与健康细胞摄取的硼的比例增加了大致相同比例的癌细胞死亡，从而允许增加癌症的剂量。

A compact neutron source with collimator and drug delivery method will be developed that permits radiation to go directly to the cancerous cells of the pons, while minimizing the dose to healthy tissue and organs. In conventional radiation therapy, the main palliative treatment for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, both healthy and cancerous cells receive roughly the same dose. This temporarily slows the tumor growth, but radiation treatments must be discontinued to limit healthy tissue damage. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a radiation treatment that can provide a more targeted destruction of the cancer cells while minimizing healthy tissue damage. A new compact neutron generator married to a neutron optic can deliver the neutrons directly to the pons and, with a precise boron delivery, result in specific cancer cell destruction. To provide a more directional tumor-volume and cell-specific targeting we propose a compact neutron generator integrated with a spectral- and volume-shaping delivery optic to direct thermal neutrons to the pons inside the body with minimal invasiveness. The ratio of the boron delivered to the cancer cells vs that taken up by healthy cells increases the cancer cell death by roughly the same ratio, permitting increased dose to the cancer.