Image Guided Tracking of Tumor Motion for Conformal Radiation Therapy

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。该奖项的主要研究目标是开发一种准确估计肿瘤靶点动力学的框架，使安全有效的自适应适形放射治疗？用于癌症治疗。这项研究的两个具体目标是：1)建立体表运动与肿瘤运动之间的关联模型；2)发展状态不确定性表征和传播算法，以便及时获取肿瘤运动数据。研究方法从肿瘤的简单刚体点质量表示发展到有限维刚体模型，最后是解释肿瘤动力学的灵活模式的模型。在我们来自Roswell Park癌症研究所(RPCI)的项目成员的密切合作下，将在临床场景中进行全面的实验，以验证所开发的框架。成果包括一套通过实验室实验验证的肿瘤运动模型，表征和传播肿瘤运动模型中状态不确定性的算法，研究结果的文档记录以及本科生和研究生教育。如果成功，这项研究有可能显著提高传统放射治疗的有效性。这项研究将有助于合理设计更有效的放射治疗，同时最大限度地减少：1)将健康组织暴露于有毒辐射，2)暴露于X射线成像剂量，以及最重要的是，3)肿瘤复发的可能性。该奖项促进了工程和生物医学科学研究人员之间的合作。通过两个领域之间的这种合作，两个领域的基础知识有望得到扩展。该奖项更广泛的影响部分的目标将部分通过将研究计划的各个方面纳入教育活动来实现。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The main research objective of this award is the development of a framework for accurate estimation of tumor target dynamics which enables safe and effective ?Adaptive Conformal Radiation Therapy? for cancer treatment. Two specific aims of this research are 1) construction of models correlating body surface motion to the motion of the tumor and 2) development of algorithms for state uncertainty characterization and propagation for timely acquisition of tumor motion data. The research approach progresses from the development of a simple rigid body point mass representation of the tumor, followed by a finite dimensional rigid body model and concluding with a model which accounts for the flexible modes of the tumor dynamics. In close collaboration with our project members from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), comprehensive experiments will be performed in a clinical scenario to validate the developed framework. Deliverables include a suite of tumor motion models validated via lab experiments, algorithms for characterizing and propagating state uncertainty in tumor motion models, documentation of research results and undergraduate and graduate student education.If successful, this research has the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of the conventional radiation therapy. This research will facilitate rational design of even more potent radiation treatment while minimizing: 1) exposure of healthy tissues to toxic radiations, 2) exposure to X-ray imaging doses and most importantly, 3) probability of relapse of tumor. This award facilitates collaboration between researchers in engineering and biomedical sciences. Through this kind of collaboration between two fields, expansion of the fundamental knowledge in both fields is expected. The goals of the broader impact portion of this award will be met in part by incorporating various aspects of the research program into educational activities as well.