Innovations In Cancer Imaging And Targeted Radiotherapy To Improve Human Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$926,980.00
Summary
Through a process of discovery, development and investigation we will create medical devices and methods to improve cancer imaging and targeted radiotherapy. Successful completion of this program will directly impact on the treatment and lives of Australian cancer patients in the foreseeable future.This program will substantially build research capacity and productivity within Australia, raise Australia’s profile in cancer research and foster international collaboration.
Novel Motion Correction Technologies for Simultaneous Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The recent development of the world's first prototype combined MR-PET scanner for human use has prompted immense interest. MR-PET is likely to revolutionize clinical diagnosis and basic research, by providing exquisite structural images co-registered with simultaneous functional PET images. We will exploit the as yet unexplored potential for motion information derived from the MR sy ....Novel Motion Correction Technologies for Simultaneous Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The recent development of the world's first prototype combined MR-PET scanner for human use has prompted immense interest. MR-PET is likely to revolutionize clinical diagnosis and basic research, by providing exquisite structural images co-registered with simultaneous functional PET images. We will exploit the as yet unexplored potential for motion information derived from the MR system to be used to correct the simultaneously acquired PET data for patient motion. This research is an excellent opportunity for Australian researchers to make important contributions to an emerging technology with high economic potential, and will strengthen Australia's international position in engineering and biomedical systems development.Read moreRead less
Improving Patient Safety In Radiation Therapy With The Watchdog Real-time Treatment Delivery Verification System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$593,742.00
Summary
Radiation therapy is a highly effective cancer treatment with extremely high doses delivered using very complex treatment machines. Unfortunately errors have occurred resulting in cases of patient death and mistreatment. We have developed a novel method to assess the treatment delivery in real-time to prevent errors. The method uses imaging devices that are already present on the treatment machine meaning that this method could have a major impact on patient safety in modern radiation therapy.
Novel Transmission Scanning and Computational Strategies for Quantitative microPET Imaging. Advances in detector technologies have led to the development and commercialisation of small animal imaging systems such as microPET which provide high resolution images of radioactive compounds in live animals, but the images can only be interpreted qualitatively. Our aim is to develop quantitative technologies for these new imaging systems. Major outcomes will include novel methods of measuring and corr ....Novel Transmission Scanning and Computational Strategies for Quantitative microPET Imaging. Advances in detector technologies have led to the development and commercialisation of small animal imaging systems such as microPET which provide high resolution images of radioactive compounds in live animals, but the images can only be interpreted qualitatively. Our aim is to develop quantitative technologies for these new imaging systems. Major outcomes will include novel methods of measuring and correcting for signal loss due to photon interactions in the body and integrated image reconstruction algorithms. This will lead to a new generation of quantitative imaging devices; the new technologies will be directly translatable to clinical imaging systems and will broaden the range of microPET applications in the life sciences.Read moreRead less
The Use Of Electronic Portal Imaging Devices For The Dosimetric Verification Of Complex Radiotherapy Treatments
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$260,949.00
Summary
The prognosis for someone diagnosed with cancer is much better than commonly believed. If detected early, malignant tumours are generally well localised. During these early stages of tumour growth high doses of radiation therapy can with a high probability, eradicate a cancer but come with the cost of causing unacceptable damage to normal tissue. A specific goal of improving the technology of radiation therapy is to reduce the probability of damage to normal tissue. Achieving this goal may allow ....The prognosis for someone diagnosed with cancer is much better than commonly believed. If detected early, malignant tumours are generally well localised. During these early stages of tumour growth high doses of radiation therapy can with a high probability, eradicate a cancer but come with the cost of causing unacceptable damage to normal tissue. A specific goal of improving the technology of radiation therapy is to reduce the probability of damage to normal tissue. Achieving this goal may allow delivery of higher doses with an associated increase in the chance of controlling the tumour. One of the challenges in radiation therapy is that tumours do not come in shapes that are easy to treat. Tumours extend into cavities and push aside healthy organs growing into complex 3D shapes. The careful shaping of the radiation beams to deliver dose distributions that match the 3D shape of the target is known as 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) is an advanced form of 3DCRT that allows the delivered dose to be closely tailored to the shape of complex tumour volumes while sparing neighbouring healthy tissues. One of the consequences of increasing the conformality of radiation therapy is an increased sensitivity to errors in the preparation and execution of the treatment. If the maximum gain in the treatment outcome using 3DCRT and IMRT techniques is to be achieved then it is crucial that the correct volume is treated to the correct dose on each day of the treatment. This requires new improved methods and techniques for verifying the daily delivery of the treatment. In this project we aim to develop the use of online digital imaging devices for measuring the delivered dose during treatment. This will increase the confidence with which these new conformal radiotherapy techniques can be delivered allowing their true potential for improving patient treatment outcomes to be realised.Read moreRead less
Synchrotrons, wavelet analysis and novel imaging techniques - applying physics tools to the war against breast cancer. Breast cancer leads to the second highest number of person-years of life lost due to cancer in Australia, with little known about its transport around the body. Current screening methods for breast cancer are neither 100% sensitive or specific and are heavily dependent upon expert training. This project will contribute by yielding valuable information on the transport of breast ....Synchrotrons, wavelet analysis and novel imaging techniques - applying physics tools to the war against breast cancer. Breast cancer leads to the second highest number of person-years of life lost due to cancer in Australia, with little known about its transport around the body. Current screening methods for breast cancer are neither 100% sensitive or specific and are heavily dependent upon expert training. This project will contribute by yielding valuable information on the transport of breast cancer and contribute to the development of an automated diagnostic method, with the possibility of its application to other diseases. The project will also involve members of the regional community, train regional scientists and provide synchrotron experience for Australian scientists in time for Australia's first synchrotron.Read moreRead less
New Imaging Instrumentation and Algorithms for the Simultaneous Measurement of Multiple Radio-labelled Probes in vivo. Medical imaging plays an increasingly important role in basic biological research and health care. This project will lead to new imaging technologies that allow the simultaneous measurement of more than one biological process at a time in living subjects, providing new insights into disabling diseases, such as cancer and mental illness. An immediate benefit will be to strengthen ....New Imaging Instrumentation and Algorithms for the Simultaneous Measurement of Multiple Radio-labelled Probes in vivo. Medical imaging plays an increasingly important role in basic biological research and health care. This project will lead to new imaging technologies that allow the simultaneous measurement of more than one biological process at a time in living subjects, providing new insights into disabling diseases, such as cancer and mental illness. An immediate benefit will be to strengthen the expertise in biomedical engineering and instrumentation development in Australia, where we have international leadership. The technologies developed will provide advanced tools for making fundamental biological discoveries and translating them into biotechnological or clinical applications.Read moreRead less
Simultaneous measurement of brain function and behaviour in fully conscious laboratory animals. MicroPET is an advanced imaging technology that measures important biochemical processes, such as enzyme activity rates and receptor binding, in the living rodent brain. However, the requirement for the animal to be anaesthetised precludes the study of behavioural changes in response to sensory or drug stimulus during the imaging study. In this research, we will develop novel motion tracking and compu ....Simultaneous measurement of brain function and behaviour in fully conscious laboratory animals. MicroPET is an advanced imaging technology that measures important biochemical processes, such as enzyme activity rates and receptor binding, in the living rodent brain. However, the requirement for the animal to be anaesthetised precludes the study of behavioural changes in response to sensory or drug stimulus during the imaging study. In this research, we will develop novel motion tracking and computational algorithms that enable microPET to non-invasively image the brains of conscious, freely moving animals while simultaneously observing their behaviour. These new technologies will, for the first time, allow neuroscientists to study the genetic, behavioural and neurochemical correlates of brain disease.Read moreRead less
Investigation of three dimensional terahertz computed tomography for biomedical applications. Terahertz (T-ray) imaging is an exciting newly emerging technology that can perform safe, non-invasive, imaging and chemical sensing at the same time. This research aims to achieve an advance in terahertz imaging by using advanced methods that will enhance our ability to achieve accurate detection of diseased tissue in vivo. Socio-economic benefits to Australia include: (i) contributions to terahertz sy ....Investigation of three dimensional terahertz computed tomography for biomedical applications. Terahertz (T-ray) imaging is an exciting newly emerging technology that can perform safe, non-invasive, imaging and chemical sensing at the same time. This research aims to achieve an advance in terahertz imaging by using advanced methods that will enhance our ability to achieve accurate detection of diseased tissue in vivo. Socio-economic benefits to Australia include: (i) contributions to terahertz systems, enhancing Australia's reputation for cutting-edge research; (ii) international collaboration will be strengthened; (iii) results will potentially lead to commercialisation opportunities; (iv) the outcomes will ultimately impact on improving terahertz imaging in quality control, medical diagnosis, and detection for national security.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354734
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
The Australian Research Network for Medical Devices: advanced technology solutions for patients and practitioners. Medical Device technologies embrace a wide range of scientific, engineering and medical knowledge, with the goal of assisting a clinical professional (doctor or nurse) deliver a service to a patient in an efficacious, cost effective manner. Development of appropriate medical devices, whether for diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease or disability, is critical to improving h ....The Australian Research Network for Medical Devices: advanced technology solutions for patients and practitioners. Medical Device technologies embrace a wide range of scientific, engineering and medical knowledge, with the goal of assisting a clinical professional (doctor or nurse) deliver a service to a patient in an efficacious, cost effective manner. Development of appropriate medical devices, whether for diagnosis, treatment or prevention of disease or disability, is critical to improving health care and reducing health care costs. To be successful, a device must include all relevant disciplines in the research, development and testing phases. This network will bring together these groups, promoting knowledge sharing and cross-disciplinary investigations that illuminate current device limitations and potential solutions.Read moreRead less