"Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center is the first cancer center in the world to install BeamSite Cherenkov imaging cameras in its radiotherapy treatment rooms. The camera system, invented, validated and commercialized by entrepreneurs from NCCC and Dartmouth spinoff biomed tech company, DoseOptics, LLC, captures imaging and real-time video of the beam directly on the patient, allowing the radiation oncology team to visualize treatment delivery," reports yahoo! news.

"Cherenkov imaging makes radiation treatment a visual process. The Cherenkov effect occurs when photon or electron radiation beams interact with tissue, such as skin, producing a small light emission from the surface. BeamSite cameras can capture images of the treatment-beam shapes in real time, as well as show levels of intensity that are proportional to the radiation dose. These visual data can be used to verify both accuracy of dose and of beam delivery at each daily treatment, a verification not possible using standard quality assurance measures.

"There were a total of 64 patients in the study, under the supervision of radiation oncologist and lead author Lesley Jarvis, MD, PhD, Member of NCCC's Translational Engineering in Cancer Research Program and Associate Professor of Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. The patients were receiving treatment for breast cancer, sarcoma, lymphoma and other cancers. Six patients were found to indicate that adjustments would have improved treatment, such as stray radiation dose exposure to the opposite breast, arm or chin during breast cancer treatments. The imaging system was also used to identify when an inadvertent dose was not an issue, such as confirming no unintended exposure of the opposite leg during an extremity sarcoma treatment.

"Radiation therapy is a repetitive procedure given to patients daily for about 30 days. Setting patients up on the treatment couch and daily alignment of the beam is a complex process. Beyond positional complications, the therapy team has to leave the room when the beam is on, so if anything happens during delivery, problem-solving tools are very limited. National statistics show that incidents of incorrect delivery might occur on a level of about 1%. In a busy clinic, this could mean one patient per week. 'Normally the treatments are just fine,' says [Dartmouth Engineering Professor Brian] Pogue. 'However, if you cannot see where the beam is, then it is a blind treatment, and the interaction between patient and therapy team is just less natural than it could be if the treatment was visual.'"

Similar coverage in: New Hampshire Union Leader