Improved Identification Of At-risk Brain Tissue In Patients With Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$279,044.00
Summary
Stroke is one of the most frequent causes of death and the major cause of adult neurological disability. Diagnostic tools to improve its management are therefore crucial. This project is dedicated to improving the magnetic resonance imaging techniques for measuring blood flow to the brain, and to applying these to patients who have had a stroke. Improved methods will enable better prediction of tissue outcome following stroke, thus enabling optimal early management decisions to be taken.
Single Shot X-ray Tomography For Real-Time Functional X-ray Imaging
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,641.00
Summary
Computed Tomography (CT) scanners produce three-dimensional images of vital organs that cannot be obtained by conventional two-dimensional (single projection) x-ray radiographs. However, the radiation exposure is hundreds of times higher than conventional radiography. We will develop the world’s first CT scanner that uses no more radiation than a single conventional x-ray image that will provide four-dimensional reconstructions of a patient’s moving internal organs.
Low Cost High Precision Radiotherapy: A Synergistic Framework For Tumour Tracking During Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Advances in technology have enabled radiotherapy to become more sophisticated and more efficient at treating cancer. Yet, despite its sophistication, today radiotherapy suffers from a major problem: whilst we routinely image patients prior to treatment, no anatomical information is available during treatment. This project aims to solve this problem by making use of a number of sensors that are already available in a radiotherapy to track the tumours positions during treatment, when it counts.
Real-time In-vivo Imaging During Lung Cancer Radiotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Lung tumours move in clinically significant and unpredicable ways. Current radiotherapy is limited by the lack of real-time imaging to monitor tumour motion. The aim of this project is to develop and clinically implement Real-time In-vivo Imaging to enable motion-adaptive radiotherapy and thereby improve treatment outcomes. Real-time In-vivo Imaging is a software technology that will be applicalbe to 90% of modern radiotherapy systems globally and will enable wide access to advanced cancer care.
We will create a new class of cancer radiotherapy system that solves the complex problem of how to target a tumour with precision and accuracy even as the patient’s anatomy changes during treatment. Our Nano-X system is built with real-time imaging guidance and treatment adaptation at the heart of the design process; and complex processing tasks have been moved from hardware to software, enabling radical changes to machine design. Together these innovations will ensure better treatment outcomes.
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.
Investigation Of A New Electronic Portal Imaging Device For Radiation Therapy Dose Delivery Verification
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,101.00
Summary
In external beam radiotherapy highly complex radiation fields are used to deliver high doses of radiation to the tumour while sparing normal tissues. Inaccurate treatment could result in poor patient outcome or damage to normal tissues. We aim to investigate a novel imaging device to measure the dose accuracy of these fields. This work has the potential to make a significant and fundamental difference to existing verification techniques for radiotherapy treatments to ensure patient outcomes.
Novel MRI Approaches To Map Focal Cortical Dysplasia In Focal Epilepsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$465,489.00
Summary
Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a common cause of focal epilepsy that is resistant to medication. When it can be identified clearly, surgical removal can cure the epilepsy but better methods of detecting and mapping FCD are required because standard imaging techniques are negative in 30% of patients. In this project, we plan to develop new MRI methods to diagnose FCD, thereby creating a new MRI-based diagnostic tool for patients with focal epilepsy who are potential surgical candidates.
Validating And Optimising The Analysis Of Magnetic Resonance Physiology Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$91,725.00
Summary
Combined electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to detect the anatomical areas in the brain that show electrical activity. Several centres worldwide use this technique to localise the seizure focus in patients with epilepsy. However, there is a lack of validation of the currently applied techniques. Current analysis methods have been developed and validated for other fMRI paradigms, such as motor tasks. It is not known whether the same principles ar ....Combined electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to detect the anatomical areas in the brain that show electrical activity. Several centres worldwide use this technique to localise the seizure focus in patients with epilepsy. However, there is a lack of validation of the currently applied techniques. Current analysis methods have been developed and validated for other fMRI paradigms, such as motor tasks. It is not known whether the same principles are applicable and optimal for fMRI-EEG data. The proposed project aims at validating and optimising the analysis strategies for fMRI-EEG data.Read moreRead less
Imaging the invisible. This project aims to develop imaging technology to see and quantify objects normally invisible with X-rays. It will develop an X-ray imaging system that should provide orders of magnitude greater sensitivity to subtle changes in material composition than conventional radiography. It will devise quantitative image analysis tools for isolating specific materials of interest from complex multi-material samples, including low density components that often go undetected. Indust ....Imaging the invisible. This project aims to develop imaging technology to see and quantify objects normally invisible with X-rays. It will develop an X-ray imaging system that should provide orders of magnitude greater sensitivity to subtle changes in material composition than conventional radiography. It will devise quantitative image analysis tools for isolating specific materials of interest from complex multi-material samples, including low density components that often go undetected. Industries that could benefit significantly from this technology include airport security, the mining sector, agriculture, manufacturing quality control, and biomedical researchers studying anatomical form and function.Read moreRead less