NEXT GENERATION IMAGING FOR REAL-TIME DOSE VERIFICATION ENABLING ADAPTIVE PROTON THERAPY

The NOVO project will address a fundamental issue in proton radiotherapy (PT) of cancer, namely the lack of real-time dose verification (RDV) that significantly limits the potential of PT due to uncertainties in the precise delivery of the prescribed dose. In the NOVO project, we will develop the first proof-of-concept of an RDV technology adaptable to any PT treatment and bring the concept to TRL 4 by also considering integration into the PT clinical workflow. The RDV technology will be pivotal for enabling the next generation of adaptive PT therapy, i.e., dose-guided real-time adaptive therapy. Real-time measurement of the dose to targeted and non-targeted tissues will be the key to truly empower patient-centered, personalized cancer treatment, important to improve curation and quality-of-life post-treatment. As a high-risk/high-gain project, NOVO aims at a first-of-its-kind RDV technology through the unique synergy between (1) cutting-edge, inexpensive organic scintillator technology that can detect secondary radiation during treatment for non-invasive measurements, (2) novel and fast image reconstruction, artificial intelligence (AI)-accelerated models and AI-enhanced image reconstruction to allow simultaneous detection of multiple radiation species and tissue compositional analysis, (3) tumor-tracking and imaging of tissue radio-sensitivity based on oxygen levels, (4) intelligent automation of decision-making schemes for real-time dose-guided adaptive therapy. The project will essentially open a new era in PT that enables curing more cancer patients and reducing toxicity from treatment. The NOVO consortium covers the entire value chain of RDV development (technology providers, theory and modelling, technology integration and PT clinics) and optimally engages nuclear, medical, and high-energy physicists, chemists, mathematicians, computer scientists, oncologists, biologists, as well as European PT centers.