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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OMA (Optimization of Medical Accelerators)

Teaser

Summary

Optimization of Medical Accelerators (OMA) explores innovative research initiatives within the field of hadron therapy. OMA joins together universities, research centres and clinical facilities with industry partners to address three main challenges in medical accelerators, which include facility design and optimization, numerical simulations for the development of advanced treatment schemes and in beam imaging and treatment monitoring.

The OMA R&D programme connects many disciplines: life sciences, physics, mathematics, IT and engineering. By closely linking these areas, OMA provides interdisciplinary and pioneering training to its 15 Early Stage Researchers. In addition to researchâ€“based training in their host institution, the Fellows receive wider network-based training. This instruction includes scientific schools and topical workshops which provide them with skills and knowledge beyond their core project, as well as training in essential career skills which enhance their future employability.

Within the OMA training programme an emphasis has been put on establishing links with other networks and training initiatives, including major European Training Networks such as AVA (Accelerators Validating Antimatter physics), the Medicis-Promed project and LIV.DAT (Big Data Science Centre for Doctoral Training). Through this approach the OMA Fellows gain significant interdisciplinary exposure and build close connections with a wider scientific community.

Eleven adjunct partners have joined the network since the start of the project, offering secondments, training and contributions to OMA events. Through these partnerships, the individual training of the Fellows is enriched and significant networking opportunities are provided. The research projects are well underway and already bringing initial results.

Work performed

All 15 project Fellows were successfully recruited within the first 12 months of the OMA project and started their work on individual research projects. In addition to research training in their host institution, the Fellows have received wider network-based training. This instruction has included scientific schools and topical workshops which provide them with skills and knowledge in wider research, as well as career development. These schools and workshops have included a week long complementary skills school (April 2017 at the University of Liverpool) and the 1st OMA scientific school on medical accelerators (June 2017 at CNAO). The most recent OMA school covering Monte Carlo simulations took place in November 2017 at LMU Munich, just before the project Mid-term Review Meeting. Participants included all OMA Fellows, as well as all students from the LIV.DAT Center for Doctoral Training in Liverpool. The OMA training will continue with three Topical Workshops and a Cosylab Academy 2018. A significant number of new adjunct partners, eleven, have joined the network since the start of the project, offering secondments and training to Fellows and contributing to network events.

In addition to research and training, the Fellows have had a strong involvement in dissemination and communication activities. The OMA website provides information about all network partners, Fellows and projects, and is regularly updated with project news. The OMA Express newsletter is distributed every three months to update the network on the progress of the project. A project leaflet has also been printed and a glossy A4 brochure has been produced, showcasing each of the Fellows, their research projects and the partners involved in the network. This promotional material has been used to raise the profile of the project by distribution at conferences around the world and via all project partners. All material is available via the project website. OMAwas presented to a wider scientific community at many international conferences including the International Particle Accelerators Conference and Beam Instrumentation Conference. It has also been presented at other meetings for a wider scientific and medical community.

OMA also organized an international outreach event to celebrate the 150th birthday of Marie SkÅ‚odowskaâ€“Curie and promote the Marie SkÅ‚odowska Curie Actions. The event was coordinated by University of Liverpool and took place on the 7th of November 2017 in three locations: University of Liverpool, CERN and LMU Munich (all OMA Beneficiaries). There were outreach talks by representatives of all three institutions, hands-on experiments and poster sessions for school children, students and the general public. All material is available on the event web page http://www.marie-curie-day-2017.org.

Final results

The OMA research projects focus on the optimisation of accelerator systems and facilities for ion beam-based particle therapy to provide better treatment. OMA will lead to direct improvements in healthcare for patients.

The research under the theme of Beam Imaging and Diagnostics include direct tests in hospitals, and if successful, may find application in a clinical setting or be subject to further clinical research. For example, the research fellow based in the Cockcroft Institute at the University of Liverpool will develop at the system to monitor a proton beam that will be tested at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre where the full potential for clinical applications will be explored. The Fellow based at Ion Beam Applications (IBA) in Belgium will improve prompt gamma cameras for patient data acquisitions, performing tests at Penn Medicine and OncoRay. The Fellow based at University College London will adapt existing technology for a precise measurement of proton range in a clinical setting, with tests already performed at the Clatterbridge Cancer Center in the UK, as well as at MedAustron in Austria.

The projects in the work package on Treatment Optimisation include innovative schemes for beam delivery and enhanced biological and physical models using computer simulations. This work will target improvements in imaging, scanning and dose delivery systems, which are crucial for improvements in treatment planning and this is where they are expected to find application in the future.

The research projects in the third scientific work package, Facility Design and Optimisation, will optimize existing and planned facilities. The work of the Fellow based at CNAO for example will find direct application in improving the CNAO control system and might then also be applied to other treatment facilities. The Fellow at CSIC will contribute directly to an optimization of beam handling and delivery at MedAustron, while the Fellow at the University of Manchester is working on a superconducting gantry design for proton tomography imaging, to be applied in Christie Hospital, but potentially also suitable for other facilities.

The OMA projects seek to enhance the characterisation and provision of hadron beams for radiotherapy applications. Through better diagnostics, ion beam therapy will be optimised. OMA will continue to be presented to the wider scientific community through several workshops and outreach events, including technical Topical Workshops and a dedicated Technology Transfer workshop for the Fellows to be held near the project end.