The INFN-funded research and development project, led by INFN with the collaboration of the Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IMM) and the Institute for superconductors, oxides and other innovative materials and devices (SPIN) of the National Research Council (CNR), and the Universities of Bologna, Naples Federico II, Roma Tre, Padova and Trento, has successfully come to an end. The researchers in fact were able to develop a flexible and inexpensive proton detector that was tested at the INFN LABEC laboratory in Firenze. The results of the experimentation have been published in Nature, in the NPJ Flexible Electronics series.
If future clinical trials on patients will be successful, the fully organic dosimeter will be able to optimize the effects of radiotherapy by precisely monitoring the radiation doses released on cancer cells while sparing the surrounding healthy tissues.
Radiation therapy with photon beams or high-energy charged particles is commonly used in combination with chemotherapy in the treatment of rectal or prostate cancer, before and sometimes even after surgery, with great effectiveness. In particular, in the case of proton therapy, a beam of protons is directed towards the tumor to damage the DNA of tumor cells, preventing their replication.
A crucial aspect of treatments is the control of the dose of radiation delivered to patients, which must be sufficient to destroy the cancer cells but not so high as to damage healthy tissues near the treated area. It is therefore fundamental to monitor in real time the amount of radiation dose that patients receive.
The FIRE proton detector can be used in different fields, from medical dosimetry to space applications, thanks to its small size and flexibility that make it easy to use on any part of the body. "In the published work," explained Beatrice Fraboni of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna, INFN researcher, and national coordinator of the FIRE project, "we focused on the real-time monitoring of radiation doses that, during proton therapy sessions, are released on cancer cells and the surrounding healthy tissues. This information is crucial for the correct calibration of therapeutic treatment and to preserve the functionality of the organs near the tumor. In the treatment of prostate cancer with protons, for example, neighboring organs such as the rectum can be seriously damaged. The characteristics of the detector make it suitable for use in space, where it can monitor the doses of harmful cosmic radiation received by astronauts", concluded Fraboni.
"The device was made using organic materials, that is, mostly based on carbon, hydrogen and oxygen," explained Paolo Branchini, an INFN researcher, who together with the CNR-IMM team led by researcher Luigi Mariucci, coordinated the work of the partners in Rome. "An elastomeric polymer was used as a substrate: in this way a flexible, inexpensive and easy to make device was obtained. The study of interactions and the coupling between the materials used for the construction of the detector play a fundamental role in the development of increasingly high-performance sensors", concluded Branchini.
"All the elements that make up the device, the organic semiconductors, the polymers and the electrical contacts, must remain stable over time and not degrade during irradiation, a very stringent requirement for many inorganic materials commonly used to make electronic devices", added Sara Maria Carturan, professor at the University of Padova and INFN researcher, coordinator of the synthesis and development of the elastomeric scintillator at the INFN national laboratories of Legnaro. "The proposed detectors maintain their functionality unaltered under high-energy proton beams thanks to the use of hybrid organic/inorganic materials with chemical and physical characteristics that can be modified according to their use".
"The detector has demonstrated excellent ability to detect intense proton radiations in real time, such as those used in proton therapy, showing excellent electronic stability and resistance to ionizing radiation. The sensors have in fact already been tested in operating conditions at the Laboratory of nuclear techniques for Environment and Cultural Heritage (Labec) of INFN, through the instrumentation and working conditions used in medical protocols for proton therapy, in anthropomorphic phantoms that simulate in 3D the parts of the human body that will receive the treatment", concluded Alberto Aloisio, professor at the Federico II University of Naples, and Ettore Sarnelli, researcher at CNR-SPIN in Pozzuoli, both of the INFN section of Naples.
Funded by the 5th National Scientific Committee of the INFN, which deals with technological research to promote the development of application technologies from fundamental research in particle physics, the FIRE project focuses on the development of a new generation of electronic devices based on organic and flexible materials for the detection of ionizing radiation. "INFN has always been involved in research into medical physics, and in particular for the development of innovative technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors", said Alberto Quaranta of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Trento, researcher at the Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications (TIFPA) and among the coordinators of the study. "In the case of FIRE, the detectors not only have greater sensitivity and resistance to radiation than conventional devices but, more importantly, perform a real-time detection of the dose released by radiation. This feature is an enormously important step forward compared to the systems currently used in the control of clinical therapies. Devices of this type will very soon become a valuable tool for the definition of therapeutic plans and the safety and protection of cancer patients. In addition to funding the project, INFN has played a central role in research activities through its sections in Bologna, Firenze , Naples, Padova and Roma Tre, the national laboratories in Legnaro and TIFPA.
To read the article visit: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-022-00229-w
The INFN press release is available at https://home.INFN.it/it/comunicati-stampa/5589-tumori-FIRE-innovativo-do...