Australia's Queensland University of Technology (QUT) physics professor Christian Langton, a specialist in ultrasound, has received QUT's Bluebox Ideas Competition first place award for his radiation therapy technique that precisely targets tumors.

"One of the hot topics in cancer treatment at the moment is tumor movement," said Langton.

The professor explains that when a person is about to undergo radiotherapy treatment, his body is scanned to ensure that radiation goes where cancerous tumors exist. Simple bodily functions like breathing, bladder filling and bowel gas movement can cause tissues to move during treatment, preclude tumors from receiving prescribed radiation and cause damage to the healthy tissue.
Langton has developed a radiation delivery solution that uses dynamic ultrasound imaging. "I have invented a robotically-controlled ultrasound system to monitor the movements of the body throughout the treatment," he said, anticipating that the solution will negate tumor movement.

For his Quantitative Ultrasound Dynamic Oncology System (QUDOS) concept, he was awarded $10,000. The monies are earmarked to market the concept, and QUDOS is expected to be prototyped and in clinical trials within the next two years.

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