KWF supports RADIATHE project
KWF (Dutch Cancer Foundation) supports the RADIATHE project with a grant for improved Quality Assurance in thermotherapy. The project outcome will be used in devices built by Sensius.
The project aims at making thermotherapy more accurate, and by improving the treatment protocol making the treatment aligned with the regular hospital workflow. This makes the technique attractive for adoption by hospitals.
To achieve this, 2 activities are defined. The first is to develop a device and software for thermotherapy (the heating of a tumor in combination with a mainstay cancer therapy like radiotherapy). The main goal in RADIATHE is to get accurate feedback about the treatment by measuring the applied input (electromagnetic field) in the heated area. Second, realtime sensor technology for monitoring dose control during the treatment will be developed.
RADIATHE supplies the fundament for a multicenter phase II study that demonstrates the efficacy of thermotherapy in combination with radiotherapy. Results of this study may lead to widespread adoption by hospitals, unleashing this promising therapy to numerous patients.
Currently already a prototype for the thermotherapy treatment in combination with radiotherapy exists, with which Head and Neck cancer patients can be treated. In the future however, also other body parts can be treated with the technique. An example is breast cancer for which already a prototype is being developed.
The RADIATHE team consists of researchers from Erasmus University and Eindhoven University of Technology, led by dr. Sergio Curto.