Descripción del proyecto
Solución de «software» rentable para la terapia con partículas
Uno de cada cuatro pacientes con cáncer recibirá radioterapia en el marco de su plan de tratamiento. La terapia con partículas (TP) utiliza partículas cargadas, como los protones, en vez de rayos X para radiar el tumor. Aunque la TP es más específica y menos perjudicial para el tejido normal circundante, el elevado coste del tratamiento ha impedido su uso generalizado. A fin de abordar este reto, el proyecto financiado con fondos europeos C-TCS, desarrolla un «software» para el sistema de control de tratamientos que sincroniza el funcionamiento de los dispositivos en los centros de TP. Al contrario que las soluciones disponibles hasta la fecha, el «software» C-TCS es universal y puede ser utilizado por distintos proveedores, lo que elimina la necesidad de «softwares» especializados, asociada a costes elevados.
Objetivo
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death nowadays; 1 in every 2 men and 1 in every 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point of their lives. The number of cancer incidences is growing by 2.4% annually, which puts a financial burden on healthcare systems globally. Particle therapy – PT (proton/neutron/positive ion therapy) has been proven to be effective and a safer alternative to other types of external beam radiotherapy as the charged particle dose is delivered in a narrow range and there is minimal damage to surrounding tissue. In 2015, among all patients that were treated for cancer worldwide, 25% were treated using some sort of radiation. However, building PT centres is very costly (>100M €) which has been a crucial factor in the slow adoption of PT facilities. This is likely to change due to introduction to lower cost/compact systems, and, more importantly, growing clinical evidence regarding its efficacy. A critical part of a PT centre is its treatment control system (TCS), the software that synchronizes the operation of all the devices. Currently, PT centre equipment vendors each custom develop their own TCS, which works only with their own equipment, is of limited configurability, closed to adjustments and expensive. Cosylab is a Slovenian company specializing in the field of control systems for particle accelerators with 17 years of experience in the field. We are developing our TCS (C-TCS) as an off-the-shelf product, that is universally usable on all vendors´ (integrators or manufacturers´) equipment. Our solution is easily configurable, available without lead times, and costing 3-5x-less than custom development. Overall, the C-TCS provides better cancer treatment efficacy, lower production and maintenance cost of PT facility, higher throughput of patients (resulting in more people treated). In 5 years after completion of the project (2025) we expect to employ additional 20 people and achieve a ROI of 5.6.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringcontrol systems
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsparticle accelerator
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncology
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-SMEInst-2018-2020-1
Régimen de financiación
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinador
1000 Ljubljana
Eslovenia
Organización definida por ella misma como pequeña y mediana empresa (pyme) en el momento de la firma del acuerdo de subvención.