Aim of the project is developing a phase shift dosimeter, triggered by ionizing photons for radiotherapy.
Biocompatible microdroplets, made of a liquid perfluorocarbon in supercritical conditions, under a radioactive beam undergo a transition to microbubbles. Their density can be detected by ultrasound imaging and linked to the dose effectively delivered to the organ.
Hospital/IRCCS involved in the research – University hospital (PTV), in collaboration with Prof. Rolando D~Angelillo, Dr. Roberto Miceli, Radiotherapy Department.
The irradiation experiment, carried out with Dr. Miceli using a linear accelerator (Elekta Precise) at 6 MV, has highlighted the effective capability of the microdroplet to make a phase transition at a dose of 10 Gy and a dose rate of 5 Gy/min (± 5%).