Research Interest

Quantitative Elasticity Imaging – Elastic Modulus and its Use for Ionising Radiation Dosimetry

RA Crescenti, JC Bamber, NL Bush, S Webb; in collaboration with P Barbone, Boston University and A Oberai, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; N Felix, C Cohen-Bacrie, Supersonic Imagine
Source of funding: Institute of Cancer Research, EPSRC, Boston University, CenSSIS

We have shown that iterative methods of solving the quasistatic inverse elasticity problem work well in combination with gels that undergo radiation-induced polymerisation, to measure and visualise 3D dose distributions that are needed for verifying complex radiotherapy treatments.  Similar measurements and images were obtained with shear wave elastography using the Supersonic Imagine Aixplorer™, offering opportunities to develop fast and easy-to-use read-out methods for radiation dosimetry (Figure 4).

Fig. 4.  Container of MAGIC gel (a) following exposure to a radiation field designed to produce a depth-dependent dose (b), and the depth dependence of Young’s modulus (c) measured from shear wave elastograms, showing a possible boundary artefact at shallow depths.