Appel 29
R&D
IBA, Jobs & Project partner and V2I with UCL and UNamur to define the future of Proton Therapy delivery techniques with FLASH and Grid Therapies.
Proton therapy is the most advanced form of radiotherapy in the fight against cancer. The unique dose deposition enables the tumor to be targeted more effectively than other treatments. Compared to photon radiotherapy, protons deposit almost all their energy within a controlled zone and in the vast majority of cases, limit the amount of the dose deposited in the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. The use of protons consequently offers the potential to reduce the secondary effects of the treatment.
FLASH therapy is based on the delivery of ultra-high dose rates requiring beam intensities that are several orders of magnitude higher than in conventional treatments. Grid therapy consists in splitting the original clinical beam, using an engineered device, to a set of smaller beams equally spaced by a couple of mm. Both aim at sparing the upstream healthy tissues and open the doors towards hypofractionation. While studies are still in early stage, the potential brought by Grid and FLASH Therapy could lead to better treatments with less side effects and reduced treatment courses. Which would make Proton Therapy more accessible to all patients that could benefit from it.
The research, if successful will expand the unique capabilities and skills in the Walloon region for radiobiology, accelerator technology, advanced metrology and complex engineering.
