Cancer remains one of the greatest global health challenges, with aggressive tumors like glioblastoma, head and neck cancers, and melanoma particularly difficult to treat. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) offers promising prospects by administering boron-enriched compounds that accumulate in tumor cells, then irradiating patients with neutrons that trigger nuclear reactions destroying cancer cells within cellular dimensions.
Despite BNCT's therapeutic promise, clinical adoption faces a critical obstacle: absence of real-time monitoring during treatment. Doctors rely entirely on pre-treatment imaging and blood analysis to estimate radiation doses, introducing 30-40% uncertainties that risk under-treating tumors or over-exposing healthy organs. Boron uptake varies significantly between patients and changes over time, making pretreatment predictions unreliable. With several operational accelerator-based BNCT facilities worldwide and more under development across Europe and Asia, accurate real-time dosimetry is increasingly urgent.
The AMA project transformed detector technology originally developed for nuclear physics research at CERN into a practical medical device addressing BNCT's dosimetry challenge. Building on the ERC Consolidator Grant HYMNS, the project demonstrated preclinical applicability of the i-TED Compton camera system for real-time boron monitoring in laboratory measurements emulating simplified BNCT treatments. Primary objectives included advancing technology readiness from laboratory prototype to demonstration in relevant environment (TRL6), validating sensitivity at clinical boron concentrations, linear system response, developing real-time image processing compatible with treatment durations, and establishing commercialization strategy with patent protection. The project strategically focused on leveraging i-TED's unique advantages: intrinsically low neutron background sensitivity, high efficiency for characteristic 478 keV gamma-rays from boron neutron capture, compact modular clinical design, and dual-modality capability (TRL4) detecting both gamma-rays and thermal neutrons simultaneously.
