This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The main research objective of this award is the development of a framework for accurate estimation of tumor target dynamics which enables safe and effective ?Adaptive Conformal Radiation Therapy? for cancer treatment. Two specific aims of this research are 1) construction of models correlating body surface motion to the motion of the tumor and 2) development of algorithms for state uncertainty characterization and propagation for timely acquisition of tumor motion data. The research approach progresses from the development of a simple rigid body point mass representation of the tumor, followed by a finite dimensional rigid body model and concluding with a model which accounts for the flexible modes of the tumor dynamics. In close collaboration with our project members from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), comprehensive experiments will be performed in a clinical scenario to validate the developed framework. Deliverables include a suite of tumor motion models validated via lab experiments, algorithms for characterizing and propagating state uncertainty in tumor motion models, documentation of research results and undergraduate and graduate student education.
If successful, this research has the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of the conventional radiation therapy. This research will facilitate rational design of even more potent radiation treatment while minimizing: 1) exposure of healthy tissues to toxic radiations, 2) exposure to X-ray imaging doses and most importantly, 3) probability of relapse of tumor. This award facilitates collaboration between researchers in engineering and biomedical sciences. Through this kind of collaboration between two fields, expansion of the fundamental knowledge in both fields is expected. The goals of the broader impact portion of this award will be met in part by incorporating various aspects of the research program into educational activities as well.
