A high efficiency imager for real-time lung cancer monitoring during radiotherapy

描述(由申请人提供)：在放射治疗期间对肺部肿瘤进行直接治疗成像，以确保适当的辐射靶向是一个尚未解决的挑战。为了克服这一障碍，我们建议使用射束眼视图(BEV)成像和高效成像器来实时自动定位肺肿瘤。该项目的目标是设计、验证和临床部署新的高效成像仪。我们将首先确定稳健的Bev成像所需的规格。为实现这一目标而设计的新型成像器将使用新的蒙特卡罗平台进行。闪烁体的组成、像素化和多层叠加将得到优化，新的成像仪将在放射治疗诊所全面部署之前进行验证。除了真正的肺肿瘤定位的直接临床好处外，我们预计这个项目将加速先进的应用，如 肿瘤跟踪、递送剂量积累和适应性放射治疗。蒙特卡洛平台还将加速开发用于该项目以外的其他医疗应用的新型成像器。因此，该项目的影响远远超出了直接的临床收益，这本身就是巨大的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Direct in-treatment imaging of lung tumors during radiation therapy to ensure proper radiation targeting is an unsolved challenge. We propose to overcome this obstacle using beam's-eye-view (BEV) imaging with a high efficiency imager to automatically localize lung tumors in real-time. The project goal is to design, validate and clinically deploy the new high efficiency imager. We will first determine the specifications necessary for robust BEV imaging. The design of the novel imager to meet this goal will be performed using a new Monte Carlo platform. Scintillator composition, pixelation and stacking of multiple layers will be optimized and the new imager will be validated prior to full scale deployment in a radiation therapy clinic. In addition to the immediate clinical benefits of real-tie lung tumor localization, we anticipate that this project will accelerate advanced applications like tumor tracking, delivered dose accumulation and adaptive radiation therapy. The Monte Carlo platform will also hasten the development of novel imagers for other medical applications beyond this project. Therefore the impact of the project extends far beyond the immediate clinical gain, which is in itself substantial.