Project

An Innovative CFD-Based Dosimetry and Pre-Treatment Planning Platform to Support Personalized Transarterial Therapies for Liver Cancer

Code
G0A1E25N
Duration
01 January 2025 → 31 December 2028
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Promotor-spokesperson
Research disciplines
  • Medical and health sciences
    • Medical biophysics
    • Image-guided interventions
    • Interventional radiology
  • Engineering and technology
    • Biofluid mechanics
    • Tissue and organ biomechanics
Keywords
Numerical modelling of liver hemodynamics microsphere transport and dosimetry Patient-specific treatment planning Transarterial therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma
 
Project description

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary form of liver cancer, ranking fourth for cancer mortality worldwide. When the tumor(s) cannot be surgically removed, intermediate HCC is being treated by transarterial chemo- or radioembolization. Using locoregional injections of microspheres, the main goal is to maximize damage to the tumor tissue, while minimizing damage to healthy parenchyma. However, current literature gives evidence of a large variety in treatment parameters and therapy outcomes, underlining that these therapies are neither standardized nor optimized. Moreover, options for pre-treatment planning are limited and severely lacking in accuracy. Hence, there is a clear need for the development of innovative methodologies to ensure patient-specific and accurate pre-treatment planning for transarterial embolization procedures. In this project, we will investigate, develop and validate a novel computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based dosimetry platform that can assist to pre-operatively determine the optimal treatment strategy for each individual patient. With this highly original work, we will go beyond the state-of-the-art and take a big step forward to pave the way towards efficient and optimal personalized treatment planning for transarterial radio-embolization interventions for liver cancer.