Quantitative Assessment of Delivered Dose in Carbon Ion Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy (C-SFRT) and Biological Response to C-SFRT.

Objective Applying carbon ion beams, which have high linear energy transfer and low scatter within the human body, to Spatially Fractionated Radiation Therapy (SFRT) could benefit the treatment of deep-seated or radioresistant tumors. This study aims to simulate the dose distributions of spatially fractionated beams (SFB) to accurately determine the delivered dose and model the cell survival rate following SFB irradiation. Approach Dose distributions of carbon ion beams are calculated using the Triple Gaussian Model.

Quantitative Assessment of Delivered Dose in Carbon Ion Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy (C-SFRT) and Biological Response to C-SFRT.

Objective Applying carbon ion beams, which have high linear energy transfer and low scatter within the human body, to Spatially Fractionated Radiation Therapy (SFRT) could benefit the treatment of deep-seated or radioresistant tumors. This study aims to simulate the dose distributions of spatially fractionated beams (SFB) to accurately determine the delivered dose and model the cell survival rate following SFB irradiation. Approach Dose distributions of carbon ion beams are calculated using the Triple Gaussian Model.

Design of an equilibrative nucleoside transporter subtype 1 inhibitor for pain relief.

The current opioid crisis urgently calls for developing non-addictive pain medications. Progress has been slow, highlighting the need to uncover targets with unique mechanisms of action. Extracellular adenosine alleviates pain by activating the adenosine A1 receptor (A1R).

Anesthetic management using desflurane and nitrous oxide in a child with non-ketotic hyperglycinemia: a case report.

Background: Non-ketotic hyperglycinemia (NKH) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by defects in the glycine cleavage system, leading to elevated glycine levels in the central nervous system. NKH manifests in various forms, with the neonatal type being the most severe and often associated with high mortality and significant neurological impairment. This case report highlights the successful uses of desflurane and nitrous oxide for anesthetic management in a patient with NKH.

Benchmarking and performance evaluation of a novel deformable image registration software for radiotherapy CT images.

Purpose: We evaluated and benchmarked a novel deformable image registration (DIR) software functionality (DirOne, Cosylab d.d., Ljubljana, Slovenia) by comparing it to two commercial systems, MIM and VelocityAI, following AAPM task group 132 (TG-132) guidelines.

Dosimetric study of synchrotron rapid beam off control and skip spot function for high beam intensity proton therapy.

Background: All Hitachi proton pencil beam scanning facilities currently use discrete spot scanning (DSS). Mayo Clinic Florida (MCF) is installing a Hitachi particle therapy system with advanced technologies, including fast scan speeds, high beam intensity, rapid beam off control (RBOC), a skip spot function, and proton pencil beam scanning using dose driven continuous scanning (DDCS). A potential concern of RBOC is the generation of a shoulder at the end of the normal spot delivery due to a flap spot (FS) with a flap dose (FD), which has been investigated for carbon synchrotron but not for proton delivery.

Distinct roles of general anesthesia activated CeA neurons in acute versus late phase of neuropathic pain.

A previous study discovered a distinct population of GABAergic neurons in the ce ntral a mygdala (CeA) that can be activated by g eneral a nesthesia (CeA ) and exert analgesic functions (Hua et al., 2020). To independently reproduce these prior findings and to investigate the electrophysiological properties of CeA neurons, we first used 1.

Dose Deintensified 3-Day Photon, Proton, or Brachytherapy: A Nonrandomized Controlled Partial Breast Irradiation Trial.

Purpose: The optimal approach for partial breast irradiation (PBI) is unknown. We investigated a novel de-intensified 3-fraction PBI regimen for photons, protons, and brachytherapy.

Methods And Materials: A multicenter nonrandomized controlled trial with the primary outcome of adverse cosmesis at 3 years versus before PBI.

Exploring the LET dependence of DNA DSB repair kinetics using the DR DNA database.

The repair of DNA double-strand breaks is a crucial yet delicate process which is affected by a multitude of factors. In this study, our goal is to analyse the influence of the linear energy transfer (LET) on the DNA repair kinetics. By utilizing the database of repair of DNA and aggregating the results of 84 experiments, we conduct various model fits to evaluate and compare different hypothesis regarding the effect of LET on the rejoining of DNA ends.

Oleic acid released by sensory neurons inhibits TRPV1-mediated thermal hypersensitivity via GPR40.

Noxious stimuli activate nociceptive sensory neurons, causing action potential firing and the release of diverse signaling molecules. Several peptides have already been identified to be released by sensory neurons and shown to modulate inflammatory responses and inflammatory pain. However, it is still unclear whether lipid mediators can be released upon sensory neuron activation to modulate intercellular communication.

Enhanced IDOL segmentation framework using personalized hyperspace learning IDOL.

Background: Adaptive radiotherapy (ART) workflows have been increasingly adopted to achieve dose escalation and tissue sparing under shifting anatomic conditions, but the necessity of recontouring and the associated time burden hinders a real-time or online ART workflow. In response to this challenge, approaches to auto-segmentation involving deformable image registration, atlas-based segmentation, and deep learning-based segmentation (DLS) have been developed. Despite the particular promise shown by DLS methods, implementing these approaches in a clinical setting remains a challenge, namely due to the difficulty of curating a data set of sufficient size and quality so as to achieve generalizability in a trained model.

LET-based approximation of the microdosimetric kinetic model for proton radiotherapy.

Background: Phenomenological relative biological effectiveness (RBE) models for proton therapy, based on the dose-averaged linear energy transfer (LET), have been developed to address the apparent RBE increase towards the end of the proton range. The results of these phenomenological models substantially differ due to varying empirical assumptions and fitting functions. In contrast, more theory-based approaches are used in carbon ion radiotherapy, such as the microdosimetric kinetic model (MKM).

Innovative 3D printing and molding process for secondary-skin-collimator fabrication.

. Secondary skin collimation (SSC) is essential for shielding normal tissues near tumors during electron and orthovoltage radiation treatments. Traditional SSC fabrication methods, such as crafting in-house lead sheets, are labor-intensive and produce SSCs with low geometric accuracy.

An automation of Monte Carlo workflow for dosimetry study of an Elekta LINAC delivery system in radiotherapy.

Purpose: This study aims to automate the Monte Carlo (MC) workflow utilized for radiotherapy dosimetry, focusing on an Elekta LINAC delivery system. It addresses the challenge of integrating MC simulations into routine clinical practice, making this accurate yet complex method more accessible and efficient for radiotherapy dosimetry.

Methods And Materials: We developed a user-friendly software featuring a graphical user interface (GUI) that integrates EGSnrc for MC simulations.

Optimizing spot intensity with lower bound constraints for IMPT: Exposing shortcomings and introducing an enhanced strategy.

Background: Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT) is a sophisticated radiation treatment allowing for precise dose distributions. However, conventional spot selection strategies in IMPT face challenges, particularly with minimum monitor unit (MU) constraints, affecting planning quality and efficiency.

Purpose: This study introduces an innovative Two-Stage Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) method to optimize spot intensity in IMPT with Lower Bound (LB) constraints.

Impact of Relative Biologic Effectiveness for Proton Therapy for Head and Neck and Skull-Base Tumors: A Technical and Clinical Review.

Proton therapy has emerged as a crucial tool in the treatment of head and neck and skull-base cancers, offering advantages over photon therapy in terms of decreasing integral dose and reducing acute and late toxicities, such as dysgeusia, feeding tube dependence, xerostomia, secondary malignancies, and neurocognitive dysfunction. Despite its benefits in dose distribution and biological effectiveness, the application of proton therapy is challenged by uncertainties in its relative biological effectiveness (RBE). Overcoming the challenges related to RBE is key to fully realizing proton therapy's potential, which extends beyond its physical dosimetric properties when compared with photon-based therapies.

Investigation of dosimetric effect of beam current fluctuations in synchrotron-based proton PBS continuous scanning.

In proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) continuous delivery, the beam is continuously delivered without interruptions between spots. For synchrotron-based systems, the extracted beam current exhibits a spill structure, and recent publications on beam current measurements have demonstrated significant fluctuations around the nominal values. These fluctuations potentially lead to dose deviations from those calculated assuming a stable beam current.

Carbon ion therapy for laterally located tumors require multiple fixed ports or a rotating gantry.

Mayo Clinic Florida will initially open with the capability to treat with a single horizontal port for carbon ion therapy. Carbon ion therapy is traditionally done using a multi fixed port treatment approach. In this study, for nine treatment sites, clinically approved treatment plan of Osaka Heavy Ion Therapy Center was compared to a treatment plan using only a horizontal port.

Technical Note: Improving the workflow in a carbon ion therapy center with custom software for enhanced patient care.

Carbon-ion radiation therapy (CIRT) is an up-and-coming modality for cancer treatment. Implementation of CIRT requires collaboration among specialists like radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and other healthcare professionals. Effective communication among team members is necessary for the success of CIRT.

Delayed paraparesis after posterior spinal fusion for congenital scoliosis: a case report.

Introduction: Although multimodal intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM), which has high sensitivity and specificity, is typically performed during spinal deformity surgery, neurological status may deteriorate with delay after surgical maneuvers. Here, we report a rare case of delayed postoperative neurological deficit (DPND) that was not detected by IONM during posterior spinal fusion (PSF) for congenital scoliosis.

Case Presentation: A 14-year-old male presented with congenital scoliosis associated with T3 and T10 hemivertebrae.

Impact of proton PBS machine operating parameters on the effectiveness of layer rescanning for interplay effect mitigation in lung SBRT treatment.

Background: Rescanning is a common technique used in proton pencil beam scanning to mitigate the interplay effect. Advances in machine operating parameters across different generations of particle therapy systems have led to improvements in beam delivery time (BDT). However, the potential impact of these improvements on the effectiveness of rescanning remains an underexplored area in the existing research.

Variation of the relative biological effectiveness in the penumbra of ion therapy beams estimated using different microdosimetric approaches.

Background And Purpose: The effort to translate clinical findings across institutions employing different relative biological effectiveness (RBE) models of ion radiotherapy has rapidly grown in recent years. Nevertheless, even for a chosen RBE model, different implementations exist. These approaches might consider or disregard the dose-dependence of the RBE and the radial variation of the radiation quality around the beam axis.

MicroRNA let-7b enhances spinal cord nociceptive synaptic transmission and induces acute and persistent pain through neuronal and microglial signaling.

Secreted microRNAs (miRNAs) have been detected in various body fluids including the cerebrospinal fluid, yet their direct role in regulating synaptic transmission remains uncertain. We found that intrathecal injection of low dose of let-7b (1 μg) induced short-term (<24 hours) mechanical allodynia and heat hyperalgesia, a response that is compromised in Tlr7-/- or Trpa1-/- mice. Ex vivo and in vivo calcium imaging in GCaMP6-report mice revealed increased calcium signal in spinal cord afferent terminals and doral root ganglion/dorsal root ganglia neurons following spinal perfusion and intraplantar injection of let-7b.