Real-tme High-resolution 3D Tumor Motion Tracking system for Adaptive Moving Aper

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Tumor motion caused by patient breathing poses a challenging problem for chest and abdominal radiation treatments. The primary objective of this SBIR program is to develop a novel real-time high-resolution 3D tumor motion tracking system for Adaptive Moving Aperture Radiation Therapy (AMART). The proposed 3D tumor tracking system intelligently combines accurate real-time 3D surface profile imaging with computed tomography (CT) imaging for AMART. The main idea of AMART is to allow the radiation beam to follow the tumor motion during breathing. The patient's breathing pattern is evaluated and used in the treatment planning session. During the radiation treatment session, the same breathing pattern will be assured by respiration monitoring using real-time 3D surface imaging. Treatment can be interrupted and resumed depending on whether the tumor motion follows the assumed pattern. The proposed system and approach will significantly improve the precision of radiation delivery for thoracic and abdominal cancer treatment. The major advantages of this novel technique include: 3/4 Real-time: Acquiring a high-resolution 3D image and tracking the tumor in real time; 3/4 Accurate: Sub-millimeter 3D measurement accuracy; 3/4 Quick and accurate image registration capability: The accurate registration between the 3D surface image and the CT data results in 4D CT data (CT sets at various respiration phases), while the rapid registration between the live 3D surface image and the reference 3D surface image enables real-time tumor tracking performance; 3/4 Capability of complete assessment of patient's respiration patterns and automatic detection of abnormal breathing; 3/4 Non-invasive: Unlike X-ray imaging, there is no radiation or harm for taking 3D surface images. Gold markers which serve as fiducials in a traditional X-ray tracking system are not needed. The research results of this SBIR project will lead directly to a new generation of adaptive therapy systems for radiotherapy. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The research results of this SBIR project will lead directly to a new generation of adaptive moving aperture radiation therapy (AMART) systems. The proposed real-time high-resolution 3D surface imaging based tumor tacking technique address a challenging problem on tumor motion caused by patient breathing during chest and abdominal radiation therapy.