Periodic Reporting for period 2 - HITRIplus (Heavy Ion Therapy Research Integration plus)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-03-31
The HITRIplus Starting Community initiative aims at gathering a wide multidisciplinary consortium, in a collaborative and structured way, to favour the access of a larger number of researchers, clinicians and patients to this advanced treatment technique (elective for tumours not curable with x-rays and protons) and to reduce cost and size of the existing and future particle accelerators required to accelerate the ions to the treatment energy. Its Transnational Access will integrate and open to external researchers the experimental and clinical research programmes of the four European therapy facilities. Its NA pillar will link the community with research and industrial networks and will favour formation and information. Its Joint Research Activities will develop new accelerator and beam delivery technologies aiming also at extending the reach of the present generation of European ion therapy centres in terms of experimental programme and therapy techniques.
During the second reporting period of HITRIplus all WPs have performed as expected and planned, 8 out of 8 Deliverables and 1 out of 1 Milestones have been reached and documented.
WP1 has constantly supervised and coordinated all the financial and administrative aspects. All WP meetings and related documents are stored and available in the INDICO webpage, and the Zenodo community is in use as multi-disciplinary open repository.
WP2 strengthened and enhanced the hadron therapy community by social media networks; the monthly HITRIplus seminar are organized constantly and they are particularly successful and see a standard participation of 120 people in mean. WP2 has been fundamental to launch the new form of Clinical TNA. WP2 has also helped to build bridges between experts and researchers by interacting with ENLIGHT, INSPIRE, EPTN, ESTRO and PTCOG communities.
WP3 focussed on a trial design for innovative use of heavy ion therapy on patients with pelvic sarcoma comparing the LET distribution in the target and in the organs at risk and investigating the impact of various factors. Quantitative values of parameters to be optimized have been proposed and an initial draft of the clinical study protocol has been circulated. Effort has been put also on defining the content of the Database created to collect, register and share results of therapies in a comparative and harmonized way. These approaches are fundamental to create a uniform reporting of the data and also to give the opportunity to other centres to interface in a standard way to hadrontherapy world.
WP4 identified a total of 12 technologies of interest for industry and acted also providing advice for their IP-protection and dissemination strategies. Value propositions were then developed based on the technologies identified and their content was then used to generate a brochure for industrial companies. To date, about twenty companies have expressed interest in the project and three have signed the project’s Memorandum of Understanding.
The goal of WP5 is to train and educate a new generation of researchers in Heavy Ion Therapy. The second course focused on clinical aspects of heavy ion therapy and took place in July 2023 and enrolled 557 students. 3 internships and 5 secondments have been completed in heavy ion therapy.
The tasks of WP6 concern the provision of transnational access to clinical and scientific users. In the second period the HIT and CNAO hours available for research accesses have been fully used. Upon adoption of the new clinical TNA modality, the initiative has seen remarkable success, since physicians from ten countries have submitted a request for clinical TNA at MEDA or CNAO during this time, the vast majority of these guests came from SEE countries.
During the second Reporting Period, WP7 has progressed in developing the reference accelerator designs that have been defined during period 1. The triangular reference lattice for the superconducting carbon ion accelerator has been further optimised. An alternative layout at higher frequency for the injector linac has been developed. The design of the superconducting gantry has considerably progressed, along the baseline defined by the Advisory Committee after period 1.
Over the second 18 months of the project, WP8 members have focused on the engineering design and construction of the superconducting magnet demonstrator (curved CCT magnet based on NbTi superconductor). Key activities included decision-making on conductor specifications, impregnation methods, manufacturing procedures for curved formers, and assembly processes.
Work package 9 focusses on upright treatment positioning identifying the clinical demands and it is taken as basis to develop carbon ion arc therapy. The treatment planning system TRiP98 was extended to permit the optimization of a large number of treatment angles as part of an arc simultaneously which was tested in simulation. A small-scale particle arc demonstrator was developed and successfully tested in first experiments.
WP 10 is working on an architectural model of an accelerator control system. The speed of such calculations was investigated using an embedded system chipset required for effective multi-energy operation.
The goal of WP11, Controls and Safety, is to analyze and determine the best solutions for upgrading current and future facilities in terms of performance and cost. Technical features that need to be supported by the control system have been identified and will be further explored in the final project period.
The objective of WP12 is to create a dosimetry standardization for radiobiological experiments. Treatment plans were computed from each partner using the center-specific software, and validated in terms of dose-depth distribution. The partner sites proceeded with and finished radiobiological irradiation using photon and carbon ion irradiation. Analysis of the results is currently ongoing.
WP13 set out the ethics requirements that the project must comply.
WP1 has constantly supervised and coordinated all the financial and administrative aspects. All WP meetings and related documents are stored and available in the INDICO webpage, and the Zenodo community is in use as multi-disciplinary open repository.
WP2 strengthened and enhanced the hadron therapy community by social media networks; the monthly HITRIplus seminar are organized constantly and they are particularly successful and see a standard participation of 120 people in mean. WP2 has been fundamental to launch the new form of Clinical TNA. WP2 has also helped to build bridges between experts and researchers by interacting with ENLIGHT, INSPIRE, EPTN, ESTRO and PTCOG communities.
WP3 focussed on a trial design for innovative use of heavy ion therapy on patients with pelvic sarcoma comparing the LET distribution in the target and in the organs at risk and investigating the impact of various factors. Quantitative values of parameters to be optimized have been proposed and an initial draft of the clinical study protocol has been circulated. Effort has been put also on defining the content of the Database created to collect, register and share results of therapies in a comparative and harmonized way. These approaches are fundamental to create a uniform reporting of the data and also to give the opportunity to other centres to interface in a standard way to hadrontherapy world.
WP4 identified a total of 12 technologies of interest for industry and acted also providing advice for their IP-protection and dissemination strategies. Value propositions were then developed based on the technologies identified and their content was then used to generate a brochure for industrial companies. To date, about twenty companies have expressed interest in the project and three have signed the project’s Memorandum of Understanding.
The goal of WP5 is to train and educate a new generation of researchers in Heavy Ion Therapy. The second course focused on clinical aspects of heavy ion therapy and took place in July 2023 and enrolled 557 students. 3 internships and 5 secondments have been completed in heavy ion therapy.
The tasks of WP6 concern the provision of transnational access to clinical and scientific users. In the second period the HIT and CNAO hours available for research accesses have been fully used. Upon adoption of the new clinical TNA modality, the initiative has seen remarkable success, since physicians from ten countries have submitted a request for clinical TNA at MEDA or CNAO during this time, the vast majority of these guests came from SEE countries.
During the second Reporting Period, WP7 has progressed in developing the reference accelerator designs that have been defined during period 1. The triangular reference lattice for the superconducting carbon ion accelerator has been further optimised. An alternative layout at higher frequency for the injector linac has been developed. The design of the superconducting gantry has considerably progressed, along the baseline defined by the Advisory Committee after period 1.
Over the second 18 months of the project, WP8 members have focused on the engineering design and construction of the superconducting magnet demonstrator (curved CCT magnet based on NbTi superconductor). Key activities included decision-making on conductor specifications, impregnation methods, manufacturing procedures for curved formers, and assembly processes.
Work package 9 focusses on upright treatment positioning identifying the clinical demands and it is taken as basis to develop carbon ion arc therapy. The treatment planning system TRiP98 was extended to permit the optimization of a large number of treatment angles as part of an arc simultaneously which was tested in simulation. A small-scale particle arc demonstrator was developed and successfully tested in first experiments.
WP 10 is working on an architectural model of an accelerator control system. The speed of such calculations was investigated using an embedded system chipset required for effective multi-energy operation.
The goal of WP11, Controls and Safety, is to analyze and determine the best solutions for upgrading current and future facilities in terms of performance and cost. Technical features that need to be supported by the control system have been identified and will be further explored in the final project period.
The objective of WP12 is to create a dosimetry standardization for radiobiological experiments. Treatment plans were computed from each partner using the center-specific software, and validated in terms of dose-depth distribution. The partner sites proceeded with and finished radiobiological irradiation using photon and carbon ion irradiation. Analysis of the results is currently ongoing.
WP13 set out the ethics requirements that the project must comply.
Strengthening and enhancing the hadron therapy community, involvement of new experts and researchers by interacting with INSPIRE, EPTN, ESTRO, ENLIGHT and PTCOG communities.
Development of common standards and common treatment protocols of CIRT. Building common treatment database and platform to share data and define standards.
Dissemination of the HITRIplus technologies at benefit of EU industries.
Support the reinforcement of a knowledge-based multidisciplinary network of trained and well-informed students, researchers and practitioners.
Wider, simplified and efficient access to the best research infrastructures. Improved patient recruitment strategy and quality of life. Engagement with the wider medical community.
The accelerator designs that are under development will allow a wider access to ion therapy: a smaller and less expensive synchrotron, compact superconducting gantry, new positioning devices, new delivery and control systems that can be used also to upgrade the existing ion therapy centres. Innovation is fostered through a reinforced partnership of research infrastructures with industry:
Studies on radiobiological dosimetry will assure high inter-comparability for multicentre studies, integration and creation of common sets of data.
Development of common standards and common treatment protocols of CIRT. Building common treatment database and platform to share data and define standards.
Dissemination of the HITRIplus technologies at benefit of EU industries.
Support the reinforcement of a knowledge-based multidisciplinary network of trained and well-informed students, researchers and practitioners.
Wider, simplified and efficient access to the best research infrastructures. Improved patient recruitment strategy and quality of life. Engagement with the wider medical community.
The accelerator designs that are under development will allow a wider access to ion therapy: a smaller and less expensive synchrotron, compact superconducting gantry, new positioning devices, new delivery and control systems that can be used also to upgrade the existing ion therapy centres. Innovation is fostered through a reinforced partnership of research infrastructures with industry:
Studies on radiobiological dosimetry will assure high inter-comparability for multicentre studies, integration and creation of common sets of data.