QA OF ENDOVASCULAR RADIOACTIVE SOURCES BY OPTICAL CT

最近有研究表明，冠状动脉再狭窄 球囊血管成形术后的动脉可通过放射预防 以前狭窄的区域使用附加的小放射源 直到导管的末端。无论是贝塔还是伽马发射器， 这些来源提供的具有生物意义的剂量不会延长 超过几毫米，传统的剂量学方法是 既不切实际，又缺乏足够的空间分辨率 描述它们的剂量分布。该项目旨在提供一个 独特的解决方案，解决了快速而彻底的表征问题 这些消息来源。一台显微层析光学激光扫描仪将 将以100微米的空间分辨率进行测量 每像素，这些源在以下情况下产生的全3D剂量分布 直接插入bang聚合物凝胶剂量计--我们的专利 光衰减增加的组织等效凝胶材料 与吸收辐射剂量呈线性关系。在第一阶段，可行性将 通过构建简单的原型扫描仪并分析其 性能，包括空间分辨率和一致性、准确性和 充分获取数据所需的最短时间。数据获取自 此扫描仪将与当前使用的生成的数据进行比较 热释光晶体或辐射变色薄膜等技术，以及 核磁共振显微成像技术。 建议的商业应用 据估计，最初大约有10,000个来源需要彻底的 在美国的QA。如果每个QA凝胶的价格是50美元，那么凝胶的销售 仅此一项就能产生50万美元的年收入。约25微米 扫描仪每年将以每台扫描仪10,000美元的价格出售， 年收入增加25万美元。

It has recently been demonstrated that the restenosis of coronary arteries following balloon angioplasty can be prevented by irradiation of the previously stenotic area using small radioactive sources attached to the ends of catheters. Whether beta or gamma emitters, the biologically-significant doses delivered by these sources do not extend beyond several millimeters, and conventional methods of dosimetry are both impractical and lack the spatial resolution necessary to fully characterize their dose distributions. This project aims to provide a unique solution to the problem of quick and thorough characterization of these sources. A microscopic tomographic optical laser scanner will be developed, which will measure, with spatial resolution of 100 microns per pixel, full 3D dose distributions produced by these sources when inserted directly in the BANG polymer-gel dosimeter - our proprietary tissue-equivalent gel material whose optical attenuation increases linearly with absorbed radiation dose. In Phase I the feasibility will be demonstrated by building a simple prototype scanner and analyzing its performance, including spatial resolution and uniformity, accuracy, and minimum time needed for adequate data acquisition. Data obtained from this scanner will be compared with data generated by currently used techniques such as thermoluminescent crystals or radiochromic film, and with NMR microimaging. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION It is estimated that initially about 10,000 sources will need a thorough QA in the US. If each QA gel is priced at dollars 50, the sales of gels alone would produce dollars 500,00 annual revenue. About 25 micro scanners will be sold per year at a dollars 10,000 per scanner, yielding an additional dollars 250,000 annual revenue.