New proton imaging technology could improve cancer treatments

Researchers at Lancaster and Manchester Universities, the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and CERN are developing the technique, known as proton imaging.

The technology is designed to improve the accuracy of images taken of adults being targeted with proton beam therapy, an emerging technique that can reduce the side effects of complex radiotherapy treatment.

Two new NHS proton treatment centres are already under construction in the UK, and the researchers hope the new technique will produce more accurate pre-treatment images of patients than existing x-ray scans.

Proton imaging can increase the accuracy of treatments down to under one millimetre, which is particularly important when the tumour is near a sensitive organ, according to Dr Graeme Burt of Lancaster University, the lead researcher on the project.

The technique works by firing a very small dose of imaging protons at the patient. These protons, which are more energetic than those used in therapy, travel right through the body, losing some energy as they go, according to Dr Hywel Owen, project member and lecturer at Manchester University.