Enhanced Proton Therapy Using Real-Time Dose and Range Monitoring
Abstract
Ion therapy offers superior dose conformality, increased biological effectiveness, and improved sparing of healthy tissues compared to traditional X-ray therapy. However, its widespread adoption faces challenges, including optimal tumor coverage, minimization of stray radiation, and adaptation to anatomical changes. This talk explores innovative solutions for range verification and adaptive treatment. Recent experimental results acquired at OSF HealthCare confirm the feasibility of using neutrons detected by a novel dual-particle organic scintillator for real-time range verification, with neutron flux fall-off providing improved beam range localization.
Ultrasound contrast agents are also being investigated to enhance range verification in proton therapy. Additionally, we address adaptive treatment challenges with a point-cloud-based segmentation model for automatic organ contouring, achieving 89% accuracy and a 1.5-second segmentation speed, significantly outperforming voxel-based methods.
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Speaker
Angela Di Fulvio
Associate Professor, Nuclear Plasma and Radiological Engineering (NPRE) Department
Director of the Nuclear Measurement Laboratory (NML)
Angela Di Fulvio is an Associate Professor in the NPRE Department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the director of the Nuclear Measurement Laboratory. Before joining NPRE in 2018 as an Assistant Professor, she was a researcher at Yale University and the University of Michigan, where her work focused on developing cutting-edge neutron multiplicity counters and superheated emulsion-based detectors. She is an author of over 130 papers published in peer-reviewed international journals and conference proceedings. For her scholarly work, she received several awards, including the 2022 UIUC Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research.
Her group at UIUC focuses on the design, simulation, and characterization of neutron detection systems. The group also develops Bayesian and machine learning algorithms to maximize the information gleaned from radiation measurements for applications ranging from nuclear safeguards and security to radiation therapy.