Mixed-reality Visualization Application for Breast Cancer Radiotherapy Receives $100,000 Grant from FBCF

Florida Breast Cancer Foundation Awards UF Radiation Oncology Researchers Grant for Breast Cancer Awareness CampaignMixed-reality (MixR) visualization is an emerging domain that overlays virtual objects, such as holograms, into physical environments via immersive technology.

Now, researchers at UF are studying the ability of MixR to develop an accurate, efficient, cost-effective, and portable system for registering breast cancer patients with radiotherapy devices using holograms as an intermediaries.

The Florida Breast Cancer Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to UF Radiation Oncology Associate Professor Perry Johnson, PhD; Samsun Lampotang, PhD, FSSH, FAIMBE; and Associate Professor Julie Bradley, MD to design a MixRGuided Radiotherapy application for a commercial off-the-shelf device costing less than $4,000. With the grant, entitled “Improving breast radiotherapy setup and delivery using mixed-reality visualization,” the team hopes to create a method capable of increasing accessibility for centers with limited resources and has already developed an initial version of the application using the HoloLens v2.

Such a system would eliminate the need for expensive and restrictive external cameras and improve outcomes by enhancing accuracy and safety while reducing both setup time and imaging dose.

Treating the breast with radiotherapy begins with an initial CT scan of the patient followed several days later by the actual treatment delivery, when the patient is re-setup on the couch of the radiotherapy device. It is critically important to both reproduce the specific patient posture used during the initial CT scan and precisely align – or register – the patient (and lesion) with the device.

By matching a patient to a hologram, the correct posture can be achieved while subsequently registering the patient with the radiotherapy device. This is particularly important in treating the breast, where setup is challenged by certain sites that require more iteration than others due to independent movement of anatomy in the treatment field (e.g., breast, arms, shoulders, head and neck).

For more information about the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation, visit floridabreastcancer.org.

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