Cerenkov Tomography of 4D Radiation Therapy Plans

描述（由申请人提供）：将研究和开发一种新发现的成像切伦科夫光辐射束剂量谱的方法，用于高级治疗方案的实时层析成像。癌症放射治疗（RT）是当今医学技术最先进的领域之一，利用最先进的CT， MRI和PET成像以及先进的治疗计划算法，设计线性加速器（LINAC）的患者特异性放射治疗。尽管如此，表征光束精度的工具非常缓慢，迄今为止仍然没有已知的快速可视化光束的方法。就其在rt领域的潜在影响而言，这一新发展的重要性怎么强调都不为过。目前测量水箱或组织幻影中的光束剂量的程序涉及使用电离室，电离室在3D水箱中进行光栅扫描，因此开发光束的3D图像将花费24小时的大部分时间；因此，很少有人这样做。然而，光束验证是必需的，目前在新的LINACs的调试过程中或在复杂处理计划的验证中仅使用部分信息。这种新发现的基于介质中的切伦科夫发射的光束成像过程将允许对每个计划的光束进行瞬时二维成像和非常快速的层析成像。证明这一提议的潜力的初步数据已经建立，并将随后有系统地开发实现快速成像直线加速器光束的精度表征。根据美国医学物理学家协会概述的验证研究，将在标准医学物理水箱中进行系统测试。我们将研究用于癌症治疗的高级调强放射治疗（IMRT）计划的成像准确性，以说明计划中的放射治疗如何成像以提高准确性。在完成这一计划的基本/转化发展阶段后，将通过在未来供资中针对特定疾病的应用来跟进这项工作。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A newly discovered method for imaging radiation beam dose profiles from Cerenkov light emission will be studied and developed for real-time tomographic imaging of the advanced therapy treatment plans. Radiation therapy (RT) for cancer is one of the most technologically advanced areas of medicine today, utilizing state of the art CT, MRI, and PET imaging together with advanced treatment planning algorithms, to design patient specific delivery of radiation from a linear accelerator (LINAC). Despite this, the tools to characterize beams accuracy are extremely slow, and to date there is still no known way to visualize the beam in quickly. The importance of this new development cannot be overstated, in terms of its potential impact in the field of RT. Current procedures to measure beam dose in water tanks or tissue phantoms involve the use of ionization chambers, which are raster scanned in a 3D water tank, so that developing a 3D image of a beam would take the majority of a 24 hour day; therefore, it is rarely done. Yet, beam verification is required, and today only partial information is used in the commissioning process of new LINACs or in the verification of complex treatment plans. This newly discovered process of imaging the beam based upon the Cerenkov emission in the medium will allow instantaneous 2D imaging and very fast tomographic profiling of each beam planned. The preliminary data proving the potential of this proposal is already established, and will be followed up with a methodical development of a realization to image LINAC beams quickly with characterization of the accuracy. Systematic testing in standard medical physics water tank set ups will be completed with validation studies as outlined by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. The accuracy of imaging advanced Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) plans for cancer treatment will be studied to illustrate how imaging the planned delivery should improve accuracy. This work will be followed up through disease specific applications in future funding, following completion of this planned basic/translational period of development.