Commissioning device tests brachytherapy applicators
Brachytherapy applicators require testing prior to clinical use to ensure accurate radiation delivery to the tumour site and to ascertain patient safety. A team from Maastricht University and MAASTRO clinic has created a brachytherapy applicator testing device that overcomes some previous problems associated with tests using radiochromic film (WO/2018/177842). The device comprises a radiation-capturing screen, an imaging holder positioned a set distance from this screen that accommodates a radiation source, and a test holder for the brachytherapy applicator positioned between the imaging holder and the screen. The screen captures radiation emitted by the source in subsequent, independent images. This set-up provides an image for visualizing and quantifying the brachytherapy applicator and determining whether it is suitable for use in high- or pulsed-dose-rate brachytherapy.
Functional imaging data modify treatment plan
RefleXion Medical has invented a process for biological adaptive radiotherapy (WO/2018/237328). The method involves adapting or updating radiation treatment plans based on biological, and/or physiological data acquired using PET, MRI, SPECT or magnetic particle imaging, for example, and/or anatomical data from X-ray imaging, CT or ultrasound. These imaging data are acquired in real-time, such as during a treatment session, and can be used to modify the treatment plan and/or dose delivery instructions to provide a prescribed dose distribution to target regions in the patient. The filing also discloses methods for evaluating treatment plans based on real-time imaging data, to determine whether to proceed with a prescribed treatment plan.
Injectable fiducials offer dual MRI and CT visibility
Image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) can reduce treatment toxicity by correcting for anatomic changes. Currently, CT is the most frequently used imaging technique for IGRT, but it offers relatively low soft-tissue resolution. In some tumours, roughly 40% larger volumes are defined on CT than with MRI, which offers submillimetre soft-tissue resolution. It is thus advantageous to apply both CT and MRI in planning of soft-tissue tumour radiotherapy. With this in mind, a team from the Technical University Of Denmark and Nanovi has developed injectable fiducial markers for IGRT with dual MRI and CT visibility (WO/2018/215595). The markers provide a fixed position to indicate the point of treatment clearly in both imaging modalities and to localize and track tumours in real time. The markers have high CT contrast and display clearly visible, stable MRI contrast enhancement.
Radiotherapy triggers light activated drugs
Researchers from Immunolight and Duke University have devised a treatment method that uses Cherenkov radiation to trigger light-activated drugs inside a patient (WO/2019/014413). The approach involves providing the subject with at least one photoactivatable drug and applying initiation energy from at least one source, such as a radiotherapy linac, for example. This creates an X-ray flux inside the subject that can generate Cherenkov radiation to activate the photoactivatable drug(s) in vivo and treat the patient’s disease.
Particle beam monitor determines dose and dose rate
Varian has published details of systems and methods for efficient and effective monitoring of particle therapy beams (WO/2019/016326). The system comprises a primary particle beam generator and a component that monitors this primary beam. The monitoring device includes a reaction component such as a thin foil that is impacted by the primary particle beam, leading to the creation of secondary photons, and a component that detects a characteristic of these secondary photons with a resolution time of less than a nanosecond. The system determines a characteristic of the primary particle beam — such as radiation dose and dose rate — based upon the characteristic of the secondary photons.
