In the conclusion of this 3-part video series on recent advancements in diagnostic radiology, current editorial advisory board member Robert L. Bard, MD, PC, DABR, FASLMS, discusses other advancements in diagnostic radiology and what new technologies are in development that could help in the fight against cancer.

Watch VIDEO PART I: Using 3-D Doppler Imaging and Other Advancements in Diagnostic Radiology

Dr. Bard is internationally known and recognized as a leader in his field. He specializes in advanced 3-D Doppler imaging to detect cancers in numerous organs, including the breast, prostate, and other areas. His images are used to accurately guide biopsies, target therapy and provide focused follow-up after treatment. He is committed to improving non-invasive cancer testing and developing minimally invasive image guided technologies to prevent cancer spread.

Watch VIDEO PART 2: VIDEO: The Advantages of Using Power Doppler Sonography on the Prostate to Screen for Tumors

In the spring of 2020, the Ellis Island Honor Society officially recognized Dr. Bard for his life’s work in clinical and research contributions in diagnostic imaging detection of cancers, which he received in person during a May 2022 ceremony, the prestigious 35th Annual Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Dr. Bard is also an Editorial Advisory Board Member for Imaging Technology News.

Related content:

VIDEO: Using 3-D Doppler Imaging and Other Advancements in Diagnostic Radiology

VIDEO: The Advantages of Using Power Doppler Sonography on the Prostate to Screen for Tumors

One on One ... with Robert L. Bard, MD, PC, DABR, FASLMS

The Full Body Imaging Movement: A Strategic Upgrade of the MRI

Microcirculation and Electromagnetic Response to Inflammation

Digital Imaging for Pelvic Floor Disorders

In Part 2 of this 3-part video series on recent advancements in diagnostic radiology, current editorial advisory board member Robert L. Bard, MD, PC, DABR, FASLMS, talks with ITN on the advantages of using power Doppler Sonography as a non-invasive way to screen for prostate tumors with abnormal blood vessels.

Dr. Bard is internationally known and recognized as a leader in his field. He specializes in advanced 3-D Doppler imaging to detect cancers in numerous organs, including the breast, prostate, and other areas. His images are used to accurately guide biopsies, target therapy and provide focused follow-up after treatment. He is committed to improving non-invasive cancer testing and developing minimally invasive image guided technologies to prevent cancer spread.

In the spring of 2020, the Ellis Island Honor Society officially recognized Dr. Bard for his life’s work in clinical and research contributions in diagnostic imaging detection of cancers, which he received in person during a May 2022 ceremony, the prestigious 35th Annual Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Dr. Bard is also an Editorial Advisory Board Member for Imaging Technology News.

Related content:

VIDEO: Using 3-D Doppler Imaging and Other Advancements in Diagnostic Radiology

One on One ... with Robert L. Bard, MD, PC, DABR, FASLMS

The Full Body Imaging Movement: A Strategic Upgrade of the MRI

Microcirculation and Electromagnetic Response to Inflammation

Digital Imaging for Pelvic Floor Disorders

Tune in to ITN’s latest “One on One” video series with Michael Butkus, PhD, for insights into proton therapy advancements. Butkus is the co-medical director and head of proton physics at the Dwoskin Proton Center at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami/UHealth Medical System. A board member of the National Association of Proton Therapy (NAPT), Butkus spoke with ITN’s managing editor to discuss how physicists, physicians and vendors are collaborating to expand availability of proton therapy and improve the health of patients being treated. 

Related proton therapy content:

Targeting Cancer, Tracking Collaboration: A Progress Report on Proton Therapy

ASTRO23 conference coverage

VIDEO: First FLASH Proton Therapy Trial Completed in Humans

John C. Breneman, M.D., medical director of the Cincinnati Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center, and the principal investigator of the FAST-01 trial, explains FLASH therapy and details on the trial. This study is testing the use of a single FLASH proton therapy session, rather than weeks of fractionated doses.

FLASH and hypo fractionated therapy have been among the hottest topics in radiation oncology. The premise of FLASH is to deliver extremely high doses of radiation to a tumor in one, short dose. Lab testing has shown this actually has a healthy tissue sparing capability and may help in reducing collateral damage.  

If this and other trials show benefit and improved outcomes from FLASH, it is possible this may become the primary treatment method for many cancers in the years to come. Reducing therapy to one treatment session also would open up much more time for proton centers so many more patients could be treated. It also would be a significant time and cost savings for patients and their families, who would not be required to stay at nearby hotels for extended stays during their course of treatment.  

Cincinnati Children's/UC Health Proton Therapy Center announced the completion of enrollment in FAST-01 (FeAsibility Study of FLASH Radiotherapy for the Treatment of Symptomatic Bone Metastases) in October. This is the first human clinical trial of FLASH therapy, which centered on patients with metastases in arms and legs to avoid irradiating critical structures. If this trials shows benefits and low toxicity, followup studies will attempt more complex treatments in other parts of the body.

Related ASTRO 2021 Radiation Oncology Content:

7 Trends in Radiation Therapy at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021 

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

VIDEO: Sedating Children With Movies Rather Than Drugs for Radiation Therapy — Interview with Jeffrey T. Chapman

VIDEO: 4 Radiation Oncology Technologies to Watch — Interview with Anthony Zietman, M.D.

VIDEO: Advances in Radiopharmaceutical Therapy — Interview with Ana Kiess, M.D., Ph.D.

VIDEO: MRI-Linac and PSMA PET Imaging Technologies Aids Therapy at GenesisCare — Interview with Walter Curran, Jr. M.D., 

VIDEO: Elekta Harmony Radiotherapy System Walk-around

VIDEO Example of the Varian Noona Bidirection Oncology Patient Interface Software

VIDEO: Examples of Cherenkov Radiation Imaging During Radiation Therapy

Find more radiation oncology technology news

Magdalena Bazalova-Carter, Ph.D., assistant professor, University of Victoria University, discusses the current state of ultra-high dose FLASH radiation therapy at the 2021 American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. Flash therapy is said to be a key technology to keep an eye on in the next few years. If it proves viable in human patients, it promises to greatly shorten treatment times, and reduce fractions to between 1-3 sessions.

The idea is that a super-high dose of radiation is delivered in one large, very fast dose. It appears that despite the high dose of radiation, there is a tissue sparing biology mechanism that is not yet fully understood, where health tissue is preserved and there is less collateral damage than the standard series of lower dose fractions over days or weeks.  

Flash therapy is being tested in electron beam therapy systems to treat superficial cancers, which are much easier to adopt to flash than deeper tissue tumors. Proton may be able to produce the higher energies needed for deeper tumor treatments, but current photon beam systems are limited because to deliver the high doses needed may cause enough heat to melt the X-ray beam source.

7 Trends in Radiation Therapy at ASTRO 2021

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

Nima Nabavizadeh, M.D., radiation oncologist and associate professor of radiation medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, explains the use of external-beam radiation therapy as a bridge to transplant in hepatocellular carcinoma cancer patients.

He presented a utilization analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database at the 2021 American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting.

7 Trends in Radiation Therapy at ASTRO 2021

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

Douglas E. Holt, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, explains the use of 3-D virtual reality volumetric imaging review to help improve cancer patients’ understanding of their disease and treatment. Pictures are worth a thousand words, and moving pictures inside a patient's body even more. Holt said using virtual reality to go through the patient's anatomy in 3D and to show them what is wrong and how it will be treated offers a new level of understanding that is not possible using a discussion or a couple still images from their medical imaging.

Holt presented this study as a late-breaker at the 2021 American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting.

Find more ASTRO videos and news

7 Trends in Radiation Therapy at ASTRO 2021

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

Ana Kiess, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology and molecular radiation sciences, Johns Hopkins University, explains the current state of patient-centered radiopharmaceutical therapy at the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2021 meeting. 

She discusses development and use over the past decade of Radium-223 dichloride and Lutetium-177 dotatate. Kiess also expects there will be targeted injectable radiopharmaceuticals for nearly all solid tumor types in the next decade. She said her center is currently investigating the use of radiopharma agents to treat oligometastatic metastatic cancers.

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

This is a model of the Toshiba ion beam radiation therapy system at the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2021 meeting. It shows the cyclotron, beam lines and two treatment rooms, one with a fixed beam and second with a rotating gantry.

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

This is an example of a multileaf collimator (MLC) on the Accuray Thomotherapy radiation therapy system at the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2021 meeting. MLCs are made of steel leaves that rapidly open and close to shape the radiation beam to match the size of the tumor in the treatment plan as the radiation beam moves around a patient. The MLC blocks the beam from hitting surrounding healthy tissue.

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

Siemens and Philips demonstrated examples of new imaging software to convert MRI datasets into synthetic computed tomography (CT) datasets at the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2021 meeting. The synthetic CT datasets can be used for radiotherapy treatment planning. This eliminates the need for a separate CT scan, reducing time and cost in patient care. 

The technology uses an algorithm to convert the MRI dataset into a CT grayscale Hounsfield units. The Hounsfield units correlate with the densities of the various tissues and are used to calculate the doses required and beam routes needed in radiotherapy to treat a patient.

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

This is Reflexion’s X1 LINAC radiotherapy system on display at ASTRO 2021. It recently gained FDA clearance for standard SBRT, IMRT and SRS. However, the real value of the system is that it was designed for biologically guided radiotherapy, where PET radiotracer detectors can image metastases and the system can target each one with real time adaptive radiotherapy. That technology is currently involved in a FDA IDE trial. If it gains FDA clearance in the coming years, the technology promises to significantly speed treatment of metastatic disease. The system in 2021 currently is installed at the University of Texas Southwest,Stanford and City of Hope.

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

DoseOptic gained FDA clearance in 2020 for its Cherenkov radiation imaging system for use during radiation therapy treatments so the irradiated field can be visualized. The system can show areas where there is misalignment of the beam, or needless irradiation of health tissue. They showed examples at American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2021 of whole breast radiotherapy, where the edge of beam hit the patient's chin and arm. One video showed how a patient moved and they placed their arm in the treatment field. 

Photo Gallery of Technologies at ASTRO 2021

Radiation Oncology Research Featured at ASTRO 2021

Find more radiation oncology technology news

Bruce Bauer, Ph.D., CEO of TAE Life Sciences. The company is developing boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) as a new radiation therapy for cancer. A patient is first infused with a non-toxic boron-10 compound, which selectively accumulates in tumor tissue. A neutron beam is then focused on the tumor and the neutrons are captured by the boron and causes emission of alpha radiation particles within the tumor. Alpha particles have a a very short range, so this helps spare surrounding healthy tissue from radiation damage. 

Historically, BNCT clinical studies have been carried out using boronophenylalanine (BPA) and neutrons derived from the core of a nuclear reactor. While the clinical outcomes have been encouraging, the availability of better boron-10 compounds and access to a neutron source posed a significant barrier to clinical research and adoption of BNCT as a practical cancer therapy.

There is now a renaissance in BNCT with the availability of new accelerator-based neutrons sources and novel synthesis of boron-10 target drugs, allowing clinical research to expand with the goal to have BNCT available as a new treatment option for patients.

The secondary radiation reaction from BNCT, with cellular-level precision, spares more healthy tissues and can potentially treat cancers that otherwise have few treatment options.

The system requires a neutron accelerator, but this is smaller than a proton system and operates at much lower energy, so the shielding requirement is much lower, cutting construction costs.

Find more news and video on radiation therapy

In Artificial Intelligence at RSNA 2019, ITN Contributing Editor Greg Freiherr offers an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) advances at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2019 annual meeting.

Modus QA is proud to offer a superior phantom for quantifying geometric distortion in modern MRgRT applications. Watch this video to discover how the entire QA process including set-up and data analysis can be completed in under 10 minutes.

Lorraine Drapek, DNP, nurse practitioner, radiation oncology, GI service, Massachusetts General Hospital, explains the roles of advanced practice providers in radiation therapy. She spoke on this topic at ASTRO 2019 at a session that reviewed the integration of APPs into radiation oncology practice to enhance clinical care. This includes but is not limited to: on-treatment management, symptom and acute toxicity management during treatment, inpatient consultations, procedural assistance, treatment planning, follow-up, survivorship and research.

Bill Hartsell, M.D., medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Proton Center in Warrenville, Ill., discusses the outcomes of a trial investigating the use of a hydrogel spacer to hold the rectum away from the prostate during radiation therapy treatments. The trial was presented at the 2019 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. 

Read the article "Augmenix Announces Positive Three-Year Long-Term Data for SpaceOAR Hydrogel Spacer"

Read the article "Latest Advances in Prostate Cancer Radiotherapy"

More coverage of ASTRO 2019

Clifford Robinson, M.D., associate professor of radiation oncology, chief of the SBRT (stereotactic body radiation therapy) service, director of clinical trials, Washington University, St. Louis, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, explains the longer term results of cardiac radiotherapy ablation to treat ventricular tachycardia. 

The results of the ENCORE-VT study were presented at ASTRO 2019.

Read the article "Noninvasive Radioablation Offers Long-term Benefits to High-risk Heart Arrhythmia Patients"

More coverage of ASTRO 2019

ITN Associate Editor Jeff Zagoudis speaks with Vinai Gondi, M.D., co-director of the Brain Tumor Center at the Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center, about the long-term results of a radiation therapy technique called hippocampal avoidance to preserve neurocognitive function for cancer patients with brain metastases at the 2019 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting.

Watch the VIDEO: Advancements in Radiation Therapy for Brain Cancer and the VIDEO: Multidisciplinary Treatment of Brain Tumors, a previous two-part interview with Gondi.

Read the article "Hippocampal Avoidance Using IMRT Now Recommended as Standard of Care for Brain Metastases"