Background:

The aim of radiotherapy is to treat tumoral targets while avoiding normal tissue surrounding it called organs at risk (OAR) to maintain its functionality.
The organ functionality of a healthy patient is usually assumed as uniform. The volume delineation of an organ is then enough to study that functionality. Nevertheless, illness or previous treatment could alter that uniformity. For the liver, that loss of uniformity could be defined with the hepatobiliary SPECT/CT.
Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using gamma rays. The technique requires delivery of a gamma-emitting radiopharmaceutical into the patient, normally through injection into the bloodstream. The pharmacokinetic of the radiopharmaceutical in an organ allows studying the biology or the functionality of the considered organ. The pharmacokinetic is obtain by image quantification of the administered radiopharmaceutical. The functionality of the liver are evaluated trough the administration of 99mTc-BRIDA.

Goal:

The aim of this study is to optimize the dose delivered to the organs and the lesions with the help of the hepatobiliary SPECT/CT. Firstly, a literature review will be performed. Secondly, based on literature findings and discussion with the medical physics team, it will be determined the following steps: how to use the SPECT/CT in EBRT optimization; how to dosimetrically compare the different optimizations. Thirdly, the student will apply and evaluate these steps. Finally, based on the results, statistical analysis will be performed.

Promotors:

bruno.vanderlinden@bordet.be

youness.jourani@bordet.be

Olivier Debeir odebeir@ulb.ac.be

Nicolas Pauly Nicolas.Pauly@ulb.be