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This radiographic monitoring system tracks particle beam delivery within a patient undergoing particle therapy. The goal of radiation therapy is to maximize the treatment dosage delivered to a tumor while minimizing exposure of surrounding healthy tissue. Studies have shown that charged particle therapies such as proton therapy and heavy ion therapy significantly reduce toxicity to normal tissue while focusing radiation on a tumor. However, real-time guidance in charged particle therapy is limited by the finite range of the charged particles, which makes it difficult to determine the precise position of the tumor target within the beam aperture.
Higher energy particles during the interaction with matter can produce secondary particles such as neutrons, electrons, x-rays and gammas. Neutrons and photons, which tend to be more penetrating than the charged particles, typically give the largest contribution to the secondary dose in out-of-field organs. Researchers at the University of Florida have developed a portal imaging system for charged particle therapy based on real-time image acquisition and in situ dose monitoring. It uses the exit neutrons and photons generated within the patient during treatment to pinpoint where the beam source targets and measure the dosage applied to the region.
Portal imaging system to produce radiographic images that improve particle therapy dosing at targeted regions
First-of-its-kind proton portal imaging system that provides “beam’s eye view” or portal of patient anatomy. This particle therapy portal imaging system provides radiographic images of a patient anatomy. When a charged particle beam consisting of high-energy ions lands on a target, it generates a secondary exit neutron and photon flux. The imaging system uses these neutron and photon emissions within the irradiated body to generate radiographic images of the patient. These images inform accurate assessment of dosage delivery to a tumor target and surrounding anatomical structures.
This X-ray backscatter imaging device acquires depth-sensitive information from an object during a single scan of one side to generate high-resolution 2D and 3D images of the internal structure of the object. Compton scatter imaging is an imaging technique that uses photon scattering to scan an object for depth-sensitive information and create images of it based on this information. In X-ray backscatter imaging, a subset of Compton scatter imaging, the photon source and detector are on the same side, allowing the device to obtain internal images of an object even when only one side is accessible. This feature of X-ray backscatter imaging both reduces the invasiveness of imaging for medical or security purposes and broadens its application to imaging scenarios where access to more than one side of the object is not possible. However, the limitations on signal acquisition from a single side prevent the application of conventional X-ray backscatter imaging to 2D and 3D tomography, which means that available XBI systems can obtain only 2D images in a single scan.
Researchers at the University of Florida have developed an X-ray backscatter imaging device that overcomes these limitations by using spectral detection, which allows the device to collect depth-sensitive information in a single, one-sided scan sufficient to generate both 2D and 3D images. This X-ray backscatter imaging device requires just one scan for each image type, decreasing scanning time and reducing the imaged object’s exposure to radiation.
X-ray backscatter imaging device that rapidly produces high-resolution 2D and 3D images for use in emergency medical situations, veterinary medicine or many industrial testing scenarios
X-ray backscatter imaging (XBI), in contrast to traditional X-ray imaging, generates an image using radiation reflected back from the object, called the backscatter pattern, rather than X-rays that pass through it. Since the backscatter pattern is dependent on the properties of the object, it contains the information required to generate an image. However, X-ray backscatter imaging typically generates only a 2D image because of limitations on signal acquisition that restrict the amount of depth-sensitive information acquirable in a single scan. This X-ray backscatter imaging device overcomes the limits on signal acquisition by using spectral detection, which involves binning the collected backscatter signal into separate energy groups to obtain depth sensitive information. This information, combined with an image reconstruction algorithm, allows the device to generate high-resolution 2D and 3D images, where at least one dimension corresponds to depth in the object.
This radiographic imaging device allows for the inexpensive mass production of X-ray and gamma ray imagers for widespread use. The global imaging devices market is projected to generate more than $46.65 billion in revenue by 2023. Despite growing demand, available radiographic imagers either utilize unoptimized combinations of technology or are expensive and time intensive to manufacture.
Researchers at the University of Florida have developed an automated imaging device that uses advanced detector configurations to promote superior imaging performance compared to available technologies while also lowering costs.
Two-dimensional and three-dimensional radiographic and tomographic devices that reduce radiation exposure in medical and industrial imaging
High-performance radiographic imaging requires inserting high-light output clear scintillators into a tungsten housing matrix, then optimally matching them to a photodiode. Currently, such imagers are manufactured manually. University of Florida researchers designed this radiographic imaging device to utilize custom tungsten housing matrices loaded with scintillators optimized for the imaging application of interest to achieve superior imaging quality. An automated process produces tungsten alloy housing matrices through stack lamination of microlayers that are fabricated by existing tomolithographic molding technology based on lithography. After this, either a robotic arm or an automated electrostatic vacuum gradient-based loading process inserts the scintillator elements into the tungsten alloy housing. This automated manufacture process provides a cost effective, mass-producible, and accurate solution to obtain high-performance gamma ray and X-ray imagers for medical and industrial applications.
