Tunable Electronic Brachytherapy System

Brachytherapy, a crucial form of radiation therapy for cancer treatment, utilizes small radioactive sources. It is a cost-effective approach, with advantages in implementation in terms of dosimetry. However, the persistent long-term radioactivity of sources creates numerous safety and security issues and associated costs to manage such issues. Also, the lack of energy tunability and directionality restrict the potential efficacy. This project will develop an innovative system for delivery of energetic electron beams for brachytherapy to robustly replace the capabilities of currently employed radiation sources. The approach relies on electron beam transport in current-carrying plasma channels, which will be adapted to allow implementation using existing high dose rate (HDR) applicators. The electron source itself is to be obtained from an existing technical approach: a compact linear accelerator (linac). This path to brachytherapy yields a directional, tunable radioactive source-free solution. In Phase I, the design of the electronic brachytherapy system will be completed with simulations to model and optimize the plasma channel, verify the electron beam dynamics, and design the Xray converter. Preliminary considerations of treatment planning with the device will be explored. Finally, the prototype fabrication and testing to be carried out in Phase II will be planned. Cancer is a global problem, accounting for almost 13% of all deaths worldwide and is one of the fastest growing diseases on earth. The market for brachytherapy devices is more than $600 million, yet is a small portion of the total $6.7 billion market for radiation therapy equipment due to the complications of using radioisotopes. The flexible, tunable electronic source of brachytherapy developed in this project will enable rapid growth of this market segment and offer a new tool for treating cancer.