Quantitative SPECT for dosimetry of 131I molecular radiotherapy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Liverpool
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Radiotherapy plays an essential role in cancer treatment. There are various types of therapy that are used to target differing organs and cancers. One such type is Molecular radiotherapy (MRT). In this treatment, patients are administered with a radioactive solution, which has been specifically chosen to travel to the cancerous tissue. The radioactive solution emits radiation, which damages the cancerous cells in the tissue, with little damage to the surrounding healthy tissue. The most common use of MRT is for treatment of thyroid cancer and radioimmunotherapy, however it is not possible to provide personalised treatment plans to the level of traditional radiotherapy techniques. It is also not possible to measure the radiation dose delivered to the patient during the treatment, which means that knowledge of the impact of the treatment is limited.
This research aims to develop an imaging system that can be used to assess the radiation dose delivered to the patient. It is based on traditional radiation imaging techniques used in hospitals but is tailored specifically for molecular radiotherapy of the thyroid. The research will lead to personalised treatment planning, which will reduce treatment costs and potentially increase rates of successful cancer treatment. Experts from the University of Liverpool and leading clinicians at the Royal Marsden and Royal Liverpool University Hospitals will conduct the research.
This research aims to develop an imaging system that can be used to assess the radiation dose delivered to the patient. It is based on traditional radiation imaging techniques used in hospitals but is tailored specifically for molecular radiotherapy of the thyroid. The research will lead to personalised treatment planning, which will reduce treatment costs and potentially increase rates of successful cancer treatment. Experts from the University of Liverpool and leading clinicians at the Royal Marsden and Royal Liverpool University Hospitals will conduct the research.
Planned Impact
There are a number of beneficiaries of this research and its subsequent commercialisation. There are currently ~2000 131I thyroid treatments and ~100 131I-mIBG treatments per annum in the UK alone, and this could be expanded significantly if personalised treatment is adopted and shows patient benefits and reduced costs. Development of this optimised system to facilitate quantitative dosimetry for Molecular Radiotherapy could therefore bring about significant impact to society through potentially increased rates of successful cancer treatment, leading to improved quality of life and health. The future results obtained with such a system could also be utilised by the British Nuclear Medicine Society (BNMS) molecular radiotherapy committee, which is dedicated to the promotion of practice optimisation in the UK and to support research and clinical practice. This could potentially lead to changes in UK policy regarding molecular radiotherapy, moving from generic to planned treatments.
A unique benefit of the prototype system to be developed in this proposal is the opportunity to provide the required individualised treatments, potentially opening up a larger market and thus offering a distinct and timely commercial advantage over existing clinical diagnostic SPECT systems. This could benefit the UK economy through the reduction of treatment costs by improving treatment efficacy and increasing patient throughput. Our commercial partner Kromek is an established and successful UK-based company, who will take the product to market. They have supplied tens of thousands of CZT detectors into both the clinical and preclinical market places and have major companies in these fields as customers. In addition, they have sold many SPECT-DM development systems into both commercial developers and the research community for the evaluation of CZT for new nuclear medicine applications. They are extremely well positioned to collaborate on the commercialisation of the proposed system and we expect that this will drive economic competitiveness for UK-based technology companies.
The consortium of university academics, leading clinicians and industrial experts will drive impact through knowledge exchange between collaborators. In particular, the PDRA employed through this project will obtain valuable research skills in cross-disciplinary research that will be useful for their further scientific career in either academia or industry.
A unique benefit of the prototype system to be developed in this proposal is the opportunity to provide the required individualised treatments, potentially opening up a larger market and thus offering a distinct and timely commercial advantage over existing clinical diagnostic SPECT systems. This could benefit the UK economy through the reduction of treatment costs by improving treatment efficacy and increasing patient throughput. Our commercial partner Kromek is an established and successful UK-based company, who will take the product to market. They have supplied tens of thousands of CZT detectors into both the clinical and preclinical market places and have major companies in these fields as customers. In addition, they have sold many SPECT-DM development systems into both commercial developers and the research community for the evaluation of CZT for new nuclear medicine applications. They are extremely well positioned to collaborate on the commercialisation of the proposed system and we expect that this will drive economic competitiveness for UK-based technology companies.
The consortium of university academics, leading clinicians and industrial experts will drive impact through knowledge exchange between collaborators. In particular, the PDRA employed through this project will obtain valuable research skills in cross-disciplinary research that will be useful for their further scientific career in either academia or industry.
Publications
McAreavey L
(2017)
Characterisation of a CZT detector for dosimetry of molecular radiotherapy
in Journal of Instrumentation
McAreavey Lucy H.
(2019)
Development of the DEPICT system for gamma-ray imaging in molecular radiotherapy
Description | The project developed a gamma-ray imaging system optimised to verify radioiodine radiotherapy treatments. A custom designed collimator was manufactured using 3D printing technology, using laser fused tungsten powder, which started a new partnership with UK industrial WolfMET. The industry partner WolfMET now use this as a case study for their manufacturing capabilities in collimators. The consortium developed and evaluated the system at the University of Liverpool and hospital partner sites for performance comparison with clinical standards. It was shown that the device offered improved performance over current medical systems however the business case for adopting the technique in the NHS was then modified for other therapeutic radionuclides (to maximise cost savings to the NHS). The project therefore surpassed the objectives by evaluating the performance of the system for novel therapeutics not yet approved for clinical use. Follow on funding will be required to change the design for optimum performance for these novel therapeutics. Many undergraduate and postgraduate students contributed to the project and 5 are now employed as medical physicists in the NHS. |
Exploitation Route | The mechanical collimator pushed the boundaries of manufacturing capabilities in tungsten collimators. The project provides a case study for industrial partner to secure other orders for complex designs. The results of the project were also utilised by the CZT detector company who now sell a thyroid scanner. The consortium was strengthened by the project which led to identifying a new possibility with collimated CZT detectors in low dose measurements which led to follow on funding (project and studentship) started in 2019. Results published can be used by other researchers in the field. |
Sectors | Healthcare |
Description | The collimator design was used by WolfMet as a case study for their capabilities in manufacturing tungsten products with complex geometry. This is regularly circulated amongst the academic and industrial communities and showcased at industrial exhibitions. The CZT results were used to inform future CZT application by the detector manufacturer (further info commercially sensitive). |
Sector | Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Description | Quantitative SPECT for dosimetry of 131I molecular radiotherapy |
Amount | £1,033,798 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 1643463 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2015 |
End | 03/2019 |
Description | STFC Cancer Diagnosis Network+ |
Amount | £486,977 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S005404/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2019 |
End | 07/2024 |
Description | Sub-voxel position identification in Cadmium Zinc Telluride detectors for Low Dose Molecular Breast Imaging |
Amount | £545,073 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 2112967 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2018 |
End | 03/2022 |
Description | The Tale of Two Tunnels |
Amount | £99,465 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ST/S000127/1 |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2018 |
End | 04/2023 |
Title | CZT signal database |
Description | Experimental database for charge signals inside a pixellated CZT detector, acquired using collimated gamma-ray sources. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Not known |
Description | Royal Liverpool University and Broadgreen Hospital |
Organisation | Royal Liverpool University Hospital |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | We have provided a PhD student, PDRA and funding for the equipment. We are designing a system for dosimetry during internal radiotherapy. |
Collaborator Contribution | Consultation, provision of equipment and samples. |
Impact | Results are being analysed, a publication is expected. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | eV Products (Kromek USA) |
Organisation | eV Products, Inc |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | A PhD student from the project team went to eV products in USA for 3 weeks to conduct NEMA tests of a CZT SPECT system. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners financed the cost of the student visit, including hotel and travel. They also provide supervision and we are continuing to analyse the results following the visit. |
Impact | The results are currently under analysis. It is expected they will be publishable. The student also developed new skills. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | AAAS Public Science Talk (Boston) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk at the Research Councils UK Exhibition Stand as part of the Family Science Days at AAAS in Boston. In addition to the talk, props were used to describe the principles of the topic. Questions afterwards. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | CAARI 2016 Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | PhD student gave a presentation at the CAARI 2016 conference in Texas to approximately 50 PGR students, researchers and industry experts. She developed communication skills and networking skills. Members of the audience asked questions immediately after the talk and throughout the rest of the meeting. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Press Conference AAAS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Invited as part of a 3-scientist panel in a press briefing for the AAAS. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | STFC CDN+ Launch Event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The STFC Cancer Diagnosis Network+ was successfully launched on 9th September 2019. More than 90 national and international delegates attended the launch event at the University of Liverpool with attendees from universities, STFC facilities, industry, and healthcare. Leading expert's gave thought-provoking talks on each of the network's key challenge themes. The event was also a great networking opportunity for attendees to create new 'Cancer Diagnosis' links that will hopefully emerge as future research collaborations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://sites.google.com/view/stfccancerdiagnosis/home/workshops |
Description | STFC Cancer Diagnosis Challenge Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | STFC Challenge workshop 1 took place on campus in Leicester on Monday 20th January 2020. The event focused on 'Precision and Quantitative Imaging'. It was a great success with over 50 delegates attending from academic, clinical and industrial backgrounds. IOP Award winning Dr Dimitra Darambara chaired the day, introducing the four distinguished speakers; Prof Phil Allport, Dr Malene Fischer, Prof Nigel Allison and Dr Calum Williams. Network opportunities were also built into the day, with the group being divided up into smaller groups to start new techonology conversations and help establish new collabortions going forward. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://sites.google.com/view/stfccancerdiagnosis/home/workshops |
Description | STFC Cancer Diagnostic Network+ Virtual Challenge Workshop - Early Diagnosis |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | The event focused on the theme of 'Early Diagnosis'. It was a half-day session, that included thought provoking speakers, a question and answer session, facilitated breakout rooms and an opportunity to engage with key industrial exhibitors. The event was Chaired by our CDN+ 'Early Diagnosis' theme lead Prof Nandita de Souza, with Co-Chair Prof John Lees. There was a funding call announcement for CDN+ Proof of Concept and Scoping Studies opened at the event. The event will helped establish further multidisciplinary collaborations between academic, clinicians and industry members to work together and address clinical challenges in the diagnosis of cancer. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://sites.google.com/view/stfccancerdiagnosis/home/workshops |
Description | School Visit (Ballycastle) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 50 pupils attended a seminar delivered at Cross and Passion School, Ballycastle. After the seminar, emails were received from teachers and parents of pupils who attended. The school also posted on social media about the seminar. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | School visit (Liverpool) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Talks and workshops with 100 pupils in year 9 and 10 about the impact of science in medicine. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | School visit (Stoke) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | 50 pupils studying AS and A-level physics, impact to be measured in September 2016. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Seminar to undergraduate students at University of West Scotland |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Seminar on the development of DEPICT for dose verification of radionuclide therapy. The audience was mainly undergraduate students, none of whom are from my institution. There was an increase in interest in medical applications of nuclear physics and a number of students asked for more information and to read my publications and book. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Talk at British Nuclear Medicine Meeting |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk at British Nuclear Medicine Meeting "DEPICT: A compact gamma camera for dosimetry in radionuclide therapy. The research was included in the meeting highlights. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Talk at Liverpool Cancer Research Institute |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Approximately 80 people attended a talk at the Liverpool Cancer Research Institute Symposium, including patient groups and Clinicians. Several follow up discussions, including around patient involvement in ongoing research projects and increased awareness of technical innovations to Clinicians. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Talk at STFC Knowledge Exchange Event "Collaborating with industry and the NHS to develop next generation medical imaging systems" |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Talk at a knowledge exchange event to showcase how research projects have been developed in collaboration with the NHS and radiation detector industry. Discussed timescales and advised on challenges faced, to encourage other multidisciplinary activities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |