The radiation oncology department at Washington University has been working on pioneering a promising novel non-invasive radiation ablation treatment for patients with ventricular tachycardia, a heart rhythm problem caused by irregular electrical signals in the lower chambers of the heart. During radiotherapy, it is crucial to precisely pinpoint and localize the myocardial scar to ensure safe and complete treatment for the patient. However, two major obstacles to precise treatment delivery include both cardiac and respiratory motion.
(https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa1613773)
In current cardiac radiation ablation treatment planning, two 4D CT (computed tomography) scans are performed. One scan is performed while the patient is holding their breath and minimizing respiratory motion whereas the other scan is performed during free breathing. Using these two CT scans, the combined respiratory and cardiac motion of the treatment target can then be estimated. However, this may administer extra radiation doses to the patient as well as potentially overheating the X-ray tube of the CT scanner.
The primary goal of this project will be to develop a novel method to measure and display the concurrent cardiac and arrhythmia patients so physicians can precisely administer radiotherapy to arrhythmia patients and avoid the obstacles of respiratory and cardiac motion.