1. Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica (Italy)
2. Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Heidelberg (Germany)
3. Leo Cancer Care (United Kingdom/USA)
Proton therapy is an emerging radiation therapy technique to deliver highly-targeted doses with ionizing radiation beams to cancer patients with improved sparing of healthy surrounding tissues and reduced toxicity compared to conventional photon beam radiotherapy. While traditionally patients are irradiated in supine position, with the radiation beam being rotated around the patient to target the tumour volume from multiple angles, recent technological developments have made it possible to do the opposite. Instead of using bulky equipment to rotate the radiation beam around the patient, robotics has made it possible to rotate the patient in upright position relative to a stationary beam generated by compact equipment. This not only saves costs and space, but also improves system reliability and increases patient comfort.
Image guidance during treatment is crucial to assure highly accurate dose delivery. The recent development of a vertical computed tomography (CT) device enables the acquisition of anatomical images at the treatment isocentre prior to irradiation and during each treatment fraction. This allows for adaptive therapy, taking into account anatomical variations that occur during the course of treatment. Since the targeting accuracy of proton therapy is more sensitive to anatomical variations than photon therapy, tumour shrinkage and/or motion as well as organ deformation during dose application must be accounted for. However, the lack of real-time image guidance is currently the dominant limiting factor in achieving a higher targeting accuracy for moving tumours with proton therapy.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the capability to provide unrivalled soft-tissue contrast images in real-time. However, the development of in-beam MRI for proton therapy has only recently started and not yet reached technical maturity to be introduced into the clinic. Recently, a unique, whole-body in-beam MRI device has been installed at HZDR/OncoRay in Dresden (Germany). By means of the rotating, open-bore magnet, this device offers the possibility to scan and irradiate patients in both recumbent and upright posture. Upright patient positioning in this device is challenging from a technical, ergonomical and workflow point-of-view.
Objective
The aim of this project is to optimize an upright patient positioning system (UPPS) to be used inside the in-beam MRI device with respect to both patient comfort and immobilization. An inclusive design of an MR-compatible UPPS for a future clinical upright MR-integrated proton therapy system should be developed.
Tasks
To assemble key anthropometric and mobility data for different patient subgroups. To consider relevant patient demographics for the highest patient inclusivity in the development of bespoke immobilization devices to be used for different patient postures in the upright position. To consider occupational health of the staff to achieve an ergonomic workflow with the UPPS. To study and verify the positional accuracy of said immobilization devices in the in-beam MRI device at HZDR/OncoRay.
My name is Leonna Aranda and I am a doctoral researcher from the United Kingdom. I was born and raised in Southampton, England and recently graduated from Imperial College London, where I obtained my MEng in Biomedical Engineering with a specialisation in mechanical engineering. My academic background spans product design, biomechanics, stress analysis, prototyping and manufacturing. I am hosted by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and based at OncoRay – the National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology in Dresden, Germany, where I am closely supervised by Prof. Dr. Aswin Hoffmann.
I am very happy to be working on Project 10: Upright Immobilisation and Positioning as part of the UPLIFT Project. My research focuses on the design and development of an MR-compatible chair for upright patient positioning during proton therapy. The aim of this work is to achieve reliable immobilisation while maintaining patient comfort. The resulting upright patient positioning system (UPPS) is intended to integrate with the in-beam MRI system at OncoRay, to support more accurate and patient-centred radiotherapy treatments. I chose this topic because it sits at the intersection of mechanical design, clinical application and patient experience, allowing engineering solutions to have a direct and meaningful impact on healthcare.
I am particularly motivated by challenging projects that combine engineering research with clinical relevance. This project appealed to me as it brings together many of my core technical skills while pushing me to work on a complex and novel design challenge. I look forward to collaborating closely with clinicians, medical physicists and engineers, and contributing to the development of a fully functional and safe MR-compatible prototype. Outside of research, I enjoy staying active by going to the gym, playing badminton and exploring what Dresden has to offer!
