I wanted ieee paper on cancer nanotechnology
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ieee paper on cancer treatment for ece students
Members of the multi-national research team behind the PRaVDA (Proton Radiotherapy Verification and Dosimetry Applications) project, led by the University of Lincoln (UK), are now building the instrument that will produce for the first time detailed three-dimensional images of a patient’s anatomy, using protons rather than x-rays.
To produce these Proton CT images, the world-first technology will use the same high energy particles that are used to destroy a tumour during proton therapy treatment.
Like x-rays, protons can penetrate tissue to reach deep tumours. However, compared to x-rays, protons cause less damage to healthy tissue in front of the tumour, and no damage at all to healthy tissue lying behind, which greatly reduces the side effects of radiation therapy. Led by Nigel Allinson from the University of Lincoln, the PRaVDA team aims to become the first in the world to produce clinical-quality Proton CT imagery. They are currently working near Cape Town at the South African National Cyclotron — a type of particle accelerator.
Allinson said: “Proton therapy is an improved approach for treating challenging tumours especially in the head and neck, and near critical organs. It is likely to become the preferred radiotherapy method for most childhood cancers, as the unwanted exposure to radiation of healthy tissue is much reduced and so the risk of second cancers later in life is also much reduced.”
He added that having the ability to administer a high dose in a small region is the main underlying advantage of proton therapy, however accurate planning is absolutely essential to ensure that the dose does not miss the target tumour.
PRaVDA researchers believe that Proton CT will soon be used as part of the planning process for cancer patients, as well as during and after treatment.
Proton therapy is rapidly gaining momentum as a cancer treatment.
The NHS will open two proton therapy centres in 2018 and up to another four private centres are also being planned for the UK. — ANI
A lot is known about cancer in India — it is one of the leading causes of death, and nearly 0.8 million new cases occur every year. But how much is known about the outcomes of the treatment of cancer? About how patients react to drugs and how they fare long term?
To gather and analyse this data, Ramesh Nimmagadda, director of medical oncology at Apollo Hospitals, has come up with a software programme called ‘OncoCollect.’
“In India, we still use protocols and guidelines of treatment from the West. But as several Indian studies have shown, Indian patients react differently to drug regimens — for instance, they tend to get more side effects and their tolerance for toxicity is lower. That is why collecting and analysing data on cancer treatments and outcomes is crucial, it can help us develop an Indian standard of treatment,” said Dr. Nimmagadda.
Dr. Nimmagadda said the software could be installed on a desktop or to a hospital’s LAN, enabling doctors to key in details of patients. Drugs used in cancer treatment are part of the software, and doctors can choose the regimen they are using. All other forms of cancer treatment are also covered in the software including surgery and radiotherapy.
They could then record responses seen, toxicity/side effects, survival periods and relapses.
Each doctor could analyse his own data for patterns and could also contribute to a pool of data generated, both within a hospital and across the country. The pool could then be studied by data analysers for larger trends. Both the patients’ and the doctors’ identities become anonymous when the data is pooled.
The software is equipped for all cancers and lymphomas except blood cancers.
“For effective use of the software, we have set up the Ramesh Nimmagadda Cancer Foundation. The software will be given free of cost and we will also provide assistance in using it,” said Dr. Nimmagadda.
The idea, said Dr. Nimmagadda, was to gather as much data on as many cancers from as many patients as possible. “Apart from showing us treatment outcomes, it will also show us economic costs — both costs borne by the patient, as well as costs and efficacies of certain drugs used. Some studies have already found that lower dosages work as well as higher dosages — this cost effectiveness too, can be studied,” he said.