Novel Delivery System for High Dose Rate Intensity Modulated Brachytherapy with Yb-169 as a Radiation Source

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Radiotherapy is an effective and safe treatment for cancer. Approximately 50% of cancerpatients benefit from this treatment, that is, close to 100,000 Canadians with cancer eachyear. Brachytherapy, is a form of radiotherapy where radioactive sources are placed inside ornear the tumours using thin, hollow tubes (catheters) implanted for a short period of time,giving a high radiation dose to the tumour while maintaining a low dose to surrounding healthy tissues. However, dose distribution in conventional brachytherapy is identical in all directions resulting in dose spillage to radiation sensitivehealthy tissues. This proposal aims to develop a novel radiation delivery system that willmanipulate the radiation dose to conform to the shape of a tumour by incorporating radiationshields inside the implanted hollow tubes, i.e. the delivery system will modulate the intensityof the emitted radiation from the brachytherapy source. The shields can rotate during thetreatment, direct the radiation towards the tumour and away from healthy tissues. Developing and making intensitymodulated brachytherapy clinically available, will significantly improve the potential ofbrachytherapy with reduced toxicity will increase the cure rates and improve the quality of lifefor Canadians with prostate, breast, cervical, uterine, vaginal, vulvar, head & neck andoesophageal cancers. In addition, this proposal will offer undergraduate and graduate studentto work in a multidisciplinary environment with radiation oncology, radiation physics, biology,computing and engineering.