Autonomous ultrasound imaging for organis position monitoring during radiotherapy

超声贴片是一种成像设备，可以半永久性地附着在患者身上，用于临床监测，而无需超声医师立即在场。这种设备的开发正在迅速进行，并且已经进行了早期演示，但是具有临床原理的应用仍有待探索。一种这样的应用是在超声引导放射疗法（USGRT）中。在英国，每年约有65，000人接受癌症放射治疗，而自主成像对于准确靶向治疗并保留正常组织至关重要。目标位置验证X射线CT具有较差的对比度，并且在某些器官中照射癌症的准确性受到位置不确定性（例如肝脏、子宫颈）和/或器官运动（例如胰腺、肾脏）的限制。MRI和辐射输送系统的结合是可能的，但成本极高，限制了其采用。类似地，一旦探针被定位，通过经会阴自主扫描，前列腺癌的USGRT是可能的。然而，对于其他治疗，例如子宫颈和肝脏，现有的扫描仪的视野不足，并且无法轻松定位以避免干扰波束或目标治疗。成功的FUSE博士生将首先审查专门针对USGRT的超声贴片开发，然后为超声设备和系统选择合适的解决方案。包括超声波技术，贴片连接，数据传输和信息提供的元素将在硬件和软件中进行研究，并将组装一个演示系统，以便将来转化为临床实践。该项目将涉及癌症研究所和FUSE CDT之间的合作，ICR参与设备/系统规范和最终演示。

An ultrasound patch is an imaging device that can be attached semi-permanently to a patient for clinical monitoring without the immediate presence of a sonographer. Development of such devices is proceeding rapidly and early demonstrations have taken place but applications with a clinical rationale have still to be explored. One such application is in ultrasound guided radiotherapy (USGRT). Around 65,000 people / year receive radiotherapy for cancer in the UK and autonomous imaging is essential to target treatment accurately and spare normal tissue. Target position-verifying X-ray CT has poor contrast and the accuracy of irradiating cancer in some organs is limited by positional uncertainty (e.g. liver, uterocervix) and/or organ motion (e.g. pancreas, kidney). The combination of MRI and a radiation delivery system is possible but extremely costly, limiting its adoption. Similarly, USGRT of prostate cancer is possible by transperineal autonomous scanning once the probe is positioned. However, for other treatments, e.g. for uterocervix and liver, existing scanners have insufficient field of view and cannot easily be positioned to avoid disturbing the beam or target, treatment.The successful FUSE PhD student will first review ultrasound patch development specifically for USGRT then select appropriate solutions for the ultrasound device and system. Elements including the ultrasound technology, patch attachment, data transmission and information provision will be investigated in hardware and software and a demonstration system will be assembled for future translation into clinical practice. This project will involve partnership between the Institute of Cancer Research and the FUSE CDT with ICR involved in device / system specification and final demonstration.