Project description
Real-time dose monitoring for cancer patients
Proton radiotherapy is a powerful cancer treatment, but its potential is limited by the fact that there is no way to check in real time if the radiation dose is hitting the right spot accurately. The EIC-funded NOVO project aims to change this by developing the first proof-of-concept technology for checking radiation dose in real time, adaptable to any proton radiotherapy treatment. This technology will enable real-time, dose-guided adaptive therapy, allowing personalised cancer treatment that improves outcomes and reduces side effects. It will combine cutting-edge organic scintillator technology, AI-enhanced image reconstruction, tumour tracking and intelligent automation to measure radiation doses in real time. The NOVO consortium will include experts across disciplines, such as physicists, chemists, mathematicians, computer scientists, oncologists and biologists.
Objective
The NOVO project will address a fundamental issue in proton radiotherapy (PT) of cancer, namely the lack of real-time dose verification (RDV) that significantly limits the potential of PT due to uncertainties in the precise delivery of the prescribed dose. In the NOVO project, we will develop the first proof-of-concept of an RDV technology adaptable to any PT treatment and bring the concept to TRL 4 by also considering integration into the PT clinical workflow. The RDV technology will be pivotal for enabling the next generation of adaptive PT therapy, i.e. dose-guided real-time adaptive therapy. Real-time measurement of the dose to targeted and non-targeted tissues will be the key to truly empower patient-centered, personalized cancer treatment, important to improve curation and quality-of-life post-treatment. As a high-risk/high-gain project, NOVO aims at a first-of-its-kind RDV technology through the unique synergy between (1) cutting-edge, inexpensive organic scintillator technology that can detect secondary radiation during treatment for non-invasive measurements, (2) novel and fast image reconstruction, artificial intelligence (AI)-accelerated models and AI-enhanced image reconstruction to allow simultaneous detection of multiple radiation species and tissue compositional analysis, (3) tumor-tracking and imaging of tissue radio-sensitivity based on oxygen levels, (4) intelligent automation of decision-making schemes for real-time dose-guided adaptive therapy. The project will essentially open a new era in PT that enables curing more cancer patients and reducing toxicity from treatment. The NOVO consortium covers the entire value chain of RDV development (technology providers, theory and modelling, technology integration and PT clinics) and optimally engages nuclear, medical, and high-energy physicists, chemists, mathematicians, computer scientists, oncologists, biologists, as well as European PT centers.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5020 Bergen
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.