Objective
Today, radiation therapy of tumours is going through a very dramatic development. The new treatment techniques are based on new accelerators with advanced intensity and energy modulation techniques combined with new computerised, biologically based therapy optimisation methods. These methods have recently been introduced into the field of classical electron and photon therapy with possibilities to accurately shape the cellular damage distribution to the macroscopic spread of the tumour.
The ultimate step in radiation therapy is now to apply these new methods to the more geometrically precise radiation modalities like protons and light ions.
Recently, a comprehensive clinical Research Centre for development of world-class tumour diagnostics and light ion therapy to be build at the Karolinska Institute and Hospital is proposed. A front line research is focused on the advanced diagnostic and therapeutic areas as: an advanced 3D scanned beam ion therapy system with a broad range of ion species, online PET imaging, a world class system for adaptive and radiobiological based treatment optimisation using CT-PET diagnostic data, and a fast and flexible narrow scanned high energy electron and photon beam therapy.
To achieve the best tumour cure outcome using these advanced techniques, experts from a large number of interdisciplinary research areas are required. Among them are radiation physicists with a wide experience in collision processes, accelerator and particle transport physicists, radiobiologists and radiation oncologists. In order to develop the best algorithms to successfully guide the particle beams to tumour and to biologically optimise the treatment it is necessary to use mathematical tool such as Monte Carlo simulation.
Monte Carlo techniques to calculate photon, electron, neutron, proton and heavy charged particle transport have become a powerful tool for simulating therapeutic beams for the three-dimensional geometry of the treatment machine and the patient.
The aim of this project is to use the GEANT4 MC code developed at CERN, Switzerland to calculate photon, electron, neutron, proton and heavy charged particle transport for therapeutic beams in the wide energy ranges and three-dimensional geometry of the treatment machine and the patient. Using this code the particle transport emerging from the accelerator and then transported through the patient organs and down to the tissue objects of the micro- and nanosize will be studied, allowing understanding of radiation treatment effects on the cellular and DNA molecule level.
The following studies are proposed:
- calculation of light ions transport in tissue and evaluation of radiation dose to the healthy tissue and tumour;
- calculation of the electron-photon transport and radiation dose to the tissue for scanned therapy beams from medical electron accelerators with the implementation of the particle transport in the magnetic field;
- evaluation of the distribution of positron emitters produced by the photonuclear reactions in the tissue for diagnostic of the dose delivery during therapy with high energy photons.
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
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17176 Stockholm
Sweden