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May 27, 2015

Detectors weave their magic to aid cancer treatment

Researchers are developing devices to detect cancer and improve radiation treatment.

Associate Professor Michael Lerch (pictured) is working in a cutting edge area in the treatment of cancer but few people would understand the ‘magic wands’ that he and his fellow researchers wave.

As Head of UOW’s Professor Lerch is part of the team from the world-renowned Centre for Medical Radiation Physics which has created devices not only aiding the detection of cancerous tissue but also maximising cancerous tissue exposure to radiation treatments.

The researchers inhabit a world of silicon sensor design and technology for solid state dosimetry for application in radiotherapy, synchrotron microbeam radiation therapy, hadron therapy (shooting charged particles at tumours) as well as for applications in positron emission tomography medical imaging (a medical procedure that provides information about how an organ or system in the body is functioning) – it’s all language which usually leaves laypeople scratching their heads. 

But scratch a little further beneath the surface and the importance of Professor Lerch’s research becomes all too evident. 

Basically, the magic wands researchers from the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics wave are new-generation devices and technologies to detect radiation and apply that to better diagnose and treat cancer. 

In 2012 for instance, Professor Lerch was part of a team that developed a detector which could be used to locate the lymph nodes nearest a cancer so as to assist doctors in cancer staging. During the surgical procedure to remove the cancer, the detector (named the Liana probe by the researchers) could accurately differentiate between cancer and normal tissue therefore helping surgeons to remove only the cancer tissue leaving the healthy tissue intact.

Most recently his vital scientific research has been acknowledged by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) which awarded the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics $337,000 for a project that is developing a new sensor technology for dosimetry (an accurate measure of radiation dose received by the human body).

The project is being funded through the NHMRC’s Development Grants Scheme and builds on a highly successful quality assurance system recently developed at the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics. It is currently the only such system in the world able to perform real-time dosimetry for Synchrotron X-ray Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT). [Synchrotron MRT refers to an emerging radiotherapy technique for cancer treatment using very bright X-ray beams that are smaller than the width of a human hair].

Professor Lerch is among researchers who, through a highly competitive application process, gains access to the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne for experiments in MRT that are carried out with Centre for Medical Radiation and Physics staff and research students. A synchrotron is a very large, doughnut shaped, facility about the size of a football field. Bunches of electrons move in synchronised orbits around the doughnut at speeds close to the speed of light. Magnets can be used to bend or wiggle the orbit of the electrons and physics tells us that synchrotron light is produced as a result. These intense beams of light are a million times brighter than the sun. The intense light they produce is filtered and tuned to travel into experimental workstations, where the light reveals the innermost molecular structure, sub-microscopic secrets of materials under investigation – including from human tissue to plants to metals.

The research team working on the NHMRC project, led by Professor Lerch, will work to develop a commercial prototype of the X-RATE dosimeter, a radiation sensor based on a completely new and novel technological platform resulting in silicon-on-diamond semiconductor chips.

“The silicon-on-diamond technology for radiation detection and dosimetry is a world first. In combining these two materials we will be able to create a unique technology that responds to radiation in the same way as human tissue, which is very important for quality assurance in MRT. It is this ability, which has eluded semiconductor dosimeters to date, that makes the X-RATE dosimeter such an exciting commercial prospect”, Professor Lerch said.

He said the silicon-on-diamond technology would be unique in the radiation detector market space as it can be used and further developed for new medical dosimetry devices in the wider radiotherapy market.

“This technology represents a new concept in quality assurance for use in combination with a novel radiation treatment modality that has shown great signs of success in the treatment of some cancers where the treatment outcomes of either surgery, chemotherapy and/or conventional X-ray radiotherapy is limited, and unfortunately the long term prognosis is very poor.”

“This project has the potential to define a new paradigm in Australian designed and developed radiation detection technology with strong potential for commercialisation”.

Professor Lerch works alongside the Director of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld who is an internationally recognised authority in radiation detectors and dosimetry science and respected internationally for his work in establishing and developing the centre and its research and teaching programs.

The centre now has active collaborations with 26 national and international institutions including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), National Space and Biomedical Research Institute (US), Massachusetts General Hospital (US), Harvard Medical School (US), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (US) and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (France).

Professor Rozenfeld is responsible for leading the scientific and commercialisation programs of the centre and developing a greater synergy between universities, the health system and industry to ensure that the centre’s basic research has clinical and commercial applications.

The centre not only works with academics and industry groups, but has an extensive network of collaborating clinicians from oncology centres around Australia, as well as local centres such as the Illawarra Cancer Care Centre, St George Cancer Care Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Liverpool Hospital and associated Ingham Institute.

In a recent report, noted by the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (which is affiliated with the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics and based on the UOW Campus):

“The Centre for Medical Radiation Physics projects cover the full spectrum of fundamental and applied medical physics, from radiation detection and instrumentation to radiation transport simulations on micro and nano-scales and radiobiology/radiation physics of nanoparticles - all with applications in contemporary radiation therapy, including charged particle therapy and cancer diagnostics. 

“Examples include cheap, portable silicon-based microdosimeters which can measure radiation doses at the cellular level (in proton and heavy ion therapy), silicon mini dosimeters for Synchrotron Microbeam Radiation Therapies (MRT) and many other radiation detectors to improve the safety and efficiency of cancer treatments. 

“The centre now leads Australia in the development of innovative Quality Assurance tools and techniques and holds several granted patents. While the main focus of activity is on the development of radiation therapy and radiation measurement techniques, centre researchers are also working in other radiation environments, including homeland security, aviation and space. For example, the centre’s portable silicon-based microdosimeter devices are being tested in deep space and low earth orbit space radiation environments to predict the effects of cosmic radiation on NASA astronauts and jet pilots.” 

The Centre for Medical Radiation Physics’ international reputation saw it invited to be a partner in Europe’s prestigious Seventh Framework Program Marie Curie Actions and CERN’s Advanced Radiation Detection European Network Training (ARDENT) initiative which has already enabled three PhD students from the centre to work in prestigious European institutions. 

Professor Rozenfeld is on the Supervisory Board of ARDENT representing Australia and Professor Lerch is Chair of the Outreach and Dissemination Board of ARDENT which is a very prestigious and important Centre for Medical Radiation and Physics collaborative project with CERN and other prominent European institutions. 

Last year, Professor Lerch put together the concept of an Australian school student visit to the largest particle physics laboratory in the world – the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva to raise the awareness and interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at the HSC level. The to accompany the students to inspire more undergraduate education students to specialise in physics teaching. Professor Lerch’s long involvement in the CSIRO Scientist in Schools program led to him approaching his partner school, Bulli High School.

The Centre for Medical Radiation Physics is indeed a centre which weaves its magic.