ENVISION

European NoVel Imaging Systems for ION therapy

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Following the pioneering experiences which lasted several decades, particle therapy has become a recognized way of curing cancer. 2 new European dual-ion facilities (Heidelberg, Pavia) will soon become operational, followed by several others which are today at different stages of planning and construction. Hadron therapy faces the challenge of improving treatment outcomes with tools able to provide on-line a 4 dimensional feedback of the irradiation to enhance the dose conformation to the cancer volume and improve the treatment of moving organs. ENVISION is set up by 15 leading European research organisations, and 1 leading industrial partner IBA , to respond to these challenges. CERN is project coordinator and the majority of the key European experts in this field are involved, as well as the Hadron Research Facilities (Heidelberg, Pavia) who will immediately benefit from the developments foreseen in this project. A valorisation committee with members of the industrial partners has been established to maximally exploit the results. ENVISION tackles the problems of on-line Dose Monitoring and of performing accurate Quality Assurance tests by developing novel imaging modalities related to dose deposition and allow assessing the treated volume and deriving reliable indicators of the delivered dose. It concentrates on the detection of nuclear reaction products produced by the interaction of the beam with atomic nuclei of the tissue (positron emitting nuclides for ibPET, photons or light charged particles for ibSPAT). The methods are applicable to all therapy relevant ion species. The application of TOF techniques with superior time resolution to beam delivery integrated double head ibPET scanners has the potential for improving ibPET image quality. Furthermore, the real-time observation of the dose delivery process will become feasible for the 1st time, substantially reducing intervention times in case of treatment mistakes or incidents.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Hadron therapy uses beams of charged particles (ions) to destroy tumour cells. The ENVISION project was dedicated to providing real-time imaging tools to ensure precise and complete elimination of tumours.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Unlike in other radiotherapy methods, in hadron therapy the protons and ions deposit most of their energy at the very end of their path. This makes it possible to target a well-defined cancerous region deep in the body. This precise focus can be tuned by adjusting the energy of the incident particle beam, with reduced damage to the surrounding healthy tissues. Selective tumour irradiation requires state-of-the-art medical imaging techniques, both prior to and during treatment. Real-time imaging is needed to provide fast feedback while the dose is being delivered.

The http://cern.ch/envision (ENVISION) (European novel imaging systems for ion therapy) project developed cutting-edge imaging solutions for hadron therapy. It aimed at improving safety, outcome and lowering the cost of this highly advanced radiation therapy. A consortium of 16 European research centres and 1 industrial partner addressed the problems of online dose monitoring.

Project members developed novel imaging modalities related to dose deposition and derived reliable indicators of the delivered dose. The real-time observation became feasible by detecting the characteristic secondary emissions of the proton beams interacting with the tissue.

ENVISION also made considerable progress in refining existing techniques, such as in-beam positron emission tomography. The consortium also brought innovative technologies (in-beam single photon tomography) closer to clinical deployment, and performed proof-of-principle testing of new in-beam single-charged-particle tomography.

The project developed and built a full-size prototype of a knife-edge slit prompt gamma camera, which is currently being evaluated with clinical partners. Upon successful evaluation, this camera will provide an effective solution to improve the quality of treatments. Scientists also developed and compared methods for automated evaluation of the treatment results, optimised detector design and advanced imaging protocols.

Imaging tools designed by the ENVISION consortium offer the possibility of tumour removal with unparalleled accuracy. This, in turn, could promote hadron therapy as a safe and efficient anticancer therapy of the future.