The first validation of personalised dosimetry for molecular radiotherapy using 3D printed organs - Invited resubmission.

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With this grant we will develop the first system for accurately validating organ dose estimates for patients receiving cancer therapy using radioactive materials which target their tumours, known as Molecular Radiotherapy (MRT). Currently simple water filled cylinders or spheres of varying sizes are used to represent patient organs when testing the accuracy of measurements of radiation dose delivered to tumours and critical organs in a patients body. These cylinders are used as a calibration to convert the number of gamma rays detected in a SPECT gamma-camera system to an activity inside a patient's organ. Our current research has shown that this calibration method can actually result in organ dose estimates with systematic errors of up to 40%, preventing individualised patient treatments from being optimised. Consequently a significant number of patients do not currently receive the optimal therapy.By using realistic 3D printed models based on CT scans of patient organs we can accurately determine how well current commercial systems measure the dose to individual patient organs. This provides the first rigorous validation of these systems, a necessary requirement if the systems are to be used for all patient therapies. Our 3D printed models will also provide a much more accurate activity calibration, based on real organ geometries, for the SPECT scanner systems used to measure dose for MRT.Accurate MRT dose information is now considered very important in countries across Europe. Legislation now recommends accurate dosimetry for every patient receiving Molecular radiotherapy treatment. Our research will provide a new gold standard for assessing dosimetry systems used in clinical departments. This will highlight any weaknesses in current systems and in combination with our new realistic calibration factor measurements will allow the accuracy of dose measurements to be improved for all SPECT camera systems and MRT therapies.By establishing the accuracy of current dosimetry systems we will be able to provide a pathway to improve current commercial systems based on techniques from our recent research and future developments based on our 3D printed models. We are currently working with a leading provider of nuclear medicine workstation software who are supporting our work to validate their system. A rigorously validated commercial system has the potential to provide a significant improvement in the outcome of an estimated 201,00 MRT therapies performed annually in Europe.