U.K., Aug. 8 -- A research team of the University of Lincoln has received a £1.6 million Translation Award from the Wellcome Trust to develop more effective radiotherapy treatment for many cancer patients by offering exclusive monitoring and imaging for sufferers receiving proton therapy.

Proton therapy is a type of particle therapy which uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often in the treatment of cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy is the ability to more exactly localize the radiation dosage when compared with other types of external beam radiotherapy.

This therapy is capable to deliver high doses of radiation only in the tumour site with very little radiation being absorbed in healthy tissue. It is mainly effective in curing cancer in children and tumours.

The novel three-year research project, Pravda, will engage unique imaging sensors developed in the university with detectors developed and used in the Large Hadron Collider. The project will give precise measurements of the therapy dose and also 3D images of where the radiation is absorbed at a tumour site. Therefore, the treatments will be more effectual and shorter.

Written By Tanu Trivedi