Novel methodologies and apparatus for tissue sensitive prompt gamma-ray imaging in proton therapy

Project: Other projectOther internal award

Project Details

Description

The demand for using Proton Therapy (PT) as a cancer treatment is growing rapidly. The key benefit is the highly localised energy deposit, with much of the proton energy being deposited in a narrow “Bragg Peak” at the end of the track. This localised treatment, however, needs to be precisely tuned as slight errors in treatment due to patient movement, non-uniform tissues etc. could cause far more serious damage to the patient than in the conventional more dispersed treatments (e.g. gamma-rays). This danger is exacerbated due to the primary uses of PT tending to leave the Bragg peak close to vital organs (e.g. brain, spine, liver). The urgent need for accurate monitoring has grown significantly with the high energy (deeper) proton beam therapy centres coming online e.g. in UK at Christie’s, UCL and Newport. We have developed a novel detector apparatus and a new methodology to help monitor and image the proton beam within the body, providing tissue sensitive information for the first time.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/12/1830/09/19