I-Corps: Minimizing the risk of radiation to prostate cancer patients

该I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是通过改善接受放射治疗（RT）的前列腺和潜在其他盆腔癌患者的生活质量。其次是皮肤癌，前列腺癌是美国男性最常见的癌症。美国癌症协会估计2018年美国前列腺癌新发病例为164，690例。这些病例中的大多数将接受放射治疗作为其治疗的一部分。RT的新趋势是在较少的分次中提供更高的辐射剂量，同时减少所需的RT会话次数。然而，在前列腺的RT期间，直肠充当限制因素。由于直肠靠近前列腺，增加辐射剂量会影响直肠壁，增加直肠癌的风险。这里开发的设备允许加快治疗计划，同时消除对直肠组织的不良损伤。 这可以大大提高患者在完成放射治疗后的生活质量。使用我们的设备减少了前列腺癌放射治疗所需的总时间，并为医疗保健提供者，健康保险和患者节省了资金。这个I-Corps项目利用镍钛合金的功能，在前列腺癌放射束治疗期间将直肠从前列腺中撤回。这将是一种微创设备，使用材料的仿生驱动来在直肠和前列腺之间建立距离。NiTi作为一种具有生物相容性的形状记忆合金，是仿生和生物相容性器件的理想候选材料。控制系统设计与合金的热机械功能相结合，以产生所需的运动范围和力的分布。通过以可靠、清洁和安静的方式传递小电流来进行致动。与大多数其他驱动方式相比，这种驱动方式具有潜在的内在安全性，因为它具有有限的运动范围，超过该范围，施加更多电流不会产生进一步的运动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is by improving the quality of life of prostate and potentially other pelvic cancer patients who receive radiation therapy (RT). Followed by skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. The American Cancer Society's estimate for prostate cancer in the United States for 2018 was 164,690 new cases. Most of these cases will receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment. The new trend in RT is to deliver a much higher dose of radiation per fraction in a smaller number of fractions while reducing the required number of RT sessions. However, during RT of the prostate, the rectum acts as a limiting factor. Due to the proximity of rectum to prostate, increasing dosage of the radiation can affect the rectal wall and increase risk of cancer in rectum. The device developed here allows for the expedited treatment plans while eliminating the undesirable damage to the rectal tissue. This can greatly improve a patient's quality of life after completion of radiation treatment. The use of our device reduces the overall required time for the radiation therapy of prostate cancer and saves money for health care providers, health insurances, and patients.This I-Corps project leverages the functionality of nickel titanium to retract the rectum away from the prostate during radiation beam therapy of prostate cancer. This will be a minimally invasive device that uses the biomimetic actuation of the material to create distance between rectum and prostate. NiTi as a biocompatible shape memory alloy is an ideal candidate for biomimetic and biocompatible devices. A control systems design is combined with thermomechanical functionality of the alloy to generate the desired range of motion and profile of force. The actuation takes place by passing a small electrical current in a reliable, clean, and silent manner. This type of actuation is potentially inherently safer when compared to most other means of actuation, because it has a limited range of motion beyond which applying more electrical current does not create further motion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.