The influence of daily imaging and target margin reduction on secondary cancer risk in image-guided and adaptive proton therapy.

. Image-guided and adaptive proton therapy rely on daily CBCT or CT imaging, which increases radiation dose and radiation-induced cancer risk. Online adaptation however also reduces setup uncertainty, and the additional risk might be compensated by reducing the setup robustness margin.

Feasibility of interleaved multislice averaged magnetization inversion-recovery acquisitions of the spinal cord.

Purpose: To establish an interleaved multislice variant of the averaged magnetization inversion-recovery acquisitions (AMIRA) approach for 2D spinal cord imaging with increased acquisition efficiency compared with the conventional 2D single-slice approach(es), and to determine essential prerequisites for a working interleaved multislice AMIRA approach in practice.

Methods: The general AMIRA concept is based on an inversion recovery-prepared, segmented, and time-limited cine balanced SSFP sequence, generating images of different contrast. For AMIRA imaging of multiple, independent slices in a 2D interleaved fashion, a slice loop within the acquisition loops was programmed.

Impact of internal target volume definition for pencil beam scanned proton treatment planning in the presence of respiratory motion variability for lung cancer: A proof of concept.

Purpose: Motion management is crucial in scanned proton therapy for mobile tumours. Current motion mitigation approaches rely on single 4DCTs before treatment, ignoring respiratory variability. We investigate the consequences of respiratory variations on internal target volumes (ITV) definition and motion mitigation efficacy, and propose a probabilistic ITV based on 4DMRI.

Micron-sized PFOB liquid core droplets stabilized with tailored-made perfluorinated surfactants as a new class of endovascular sono-sensitizers for focused ultrasound thermotherapy.

The purpose of this study was to develop micron-sized droplet emulsions able to increase the heat deposition of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), aiming to accelerate the tumour ablation in highly perfused organs with reduced side effects. The investigated droplets consisted of a perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) core coated with a biocompatible fluorinated surfactant called F-TAC. The novelty of this work relies on the use, for this application, of a high boiling point perfluorocarbon core (142 °C), combined with an in-house fluorinated surfactant to formulate the emulsion, yielding quasi-reversible strong interactions between the HIFU beam and the droplets.

Molecular oxygen loading in candidate theranostic droplets stabilized with biocompatible fluorinated surfactants: Particle size effect and application to in situF MRI mapping of oxygen partial pressure.

Objective: Perfluorocarbon nano- and micron-sized emulsions are a new field of investigation in cancer treatment due to their ability to be used as imaging contrast agents, or as delivery vectors for pharmaceuticals. They also demonstrated capability to enhance the efficiency of high intensity focused ultrasound thermo-therapy. In the context of new biomedical applications we investigated perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) theranostic droplets using F NMR.