Makris Dimitris

Optimization of dosimetry for modern radiotherapy techniques for safer and more effective radiotherapy of brain tumors

The main objective of the research proposal is to develop a novel and reliable personalized-pretreatment plan verification (PTPV) method that will overcome the majority of the problems that are currently present in clinical practice, improving in this way the safety and efficiency of modern radiotherapy techniques. The project will be based in 3D-MRI-polymer gel dosimetry, a method that overcomes the great majority of problems of conventional detectors, for high resolution 3D relative dosimetry. Patient specific phantoms that simulate the real patient anatomy will be constructed using a polymer gel substance and 3-D printing technology. The gel-filled phantom can be then treated as the real patient. A comparison between the calculated and experimentally derived 3D dose data will enable the verification of the patient treatment plan, complement and significantly extend the capabilities for personalized-pretreatment plan verification. Moreover, this method will be used to verify and evaluate, novel radiotherapy techniques that use Gold Nanoparticles (GNPs) as contrast agents, that enhance the dose within the PTVs.