How Does C-RAD Catalyst HD Enable Research Into FLASH Radiotherapy?

Over the last 20 years, research done in the delivery of radiation therapy has shown that delivering higher doses of radiation in fewer treatments leads to better results with fewer side effects. The question is, “Can an even higher radiation dose lead to more effective treatments?”

FLASH Radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) is the delivery of radiation therapy at extremely high dose rates. While traditional radiation therapy is typically delivered at the rate of 6 Gy per minute to 20 Gy per minute, FLASH-RT is delivered well over 100 Gy per second and in many research settings much faster. While FLASH-RT is still new and is not widely available clinically, research has progressed to the treatment of animals and some clinical trials in humans. The first patient in the world was treated with FLASH-RT in 2019 at Lausanne University Hospital, and research is ongoing.

A critical component of a FLASH-RT research system is the ability to monitor the animal’s position and verify that the radiation is being delivered to the target.

The Skåne University Hospital and Lund University, in Lund, Sweden, use C-RAD Catalyst HD as part of the facility’s animal research program in FLASH-RT. In close cooperation, scientists, medical physicists, engineers, oncologists, RTTs, and veterinarians have converted an Elekta linac to deliver high-dose rates of electrons to test FLASH-RT on dogs. As a critical component of the research, Catalyst verifies that the animal is in the correct position immediately before each dose is triggered.

While Catalyst was not developed for the purpose of treating dogs, the team at Lund University has demonstrated that Catalyst meets the requirements to monitor a dog’s position prior to starting the delivery of a dose of treatment. The institution’s research not only demonstrates that the Catalyst system is effective for use in delivering FLASH-RT, but that the system is flexible enough to consider a dog’s body shape and fur color to deliver FLASH-RT in a research setting. Due to Catalyst´s large FOV sufficient surfaces could be created although the dogs were treated in a position far from isocenter. The data and results have been submitted for presentation at the 2021 ESTRO Congress in Madrid and will serve as a benchmark as other research programs look to develop their FLASH-RT programs.