I-Corps: Minimizing the risk of radiation to prostate cancer patients

University Of Toledo, Toledo OH

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is by improving the quality of life of prostate and potentially other pelvic cancer patients who receive radiation therapy (RT). Followed by skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. The American Cancer Society's estimate for prostate cancer in the United States for 2018 was 164,690 new cases. Most of these cases will receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment. The new trend in RT is to deliver a much higher dose of radiation per fraction in a smaller number of fractions while reducing the required number of RT sessions. However, during RT of the prostate, the rectum acts as a limiting factor. Due to the proximity of rectum to prostate, increasing dosage of the radiation can affect the rectal wall and increase risk of cancer in rectum. The device developed here allows for the expedited treatment plans while eliminating the undesirable damage to the rectal tissue. This can greatly improve a patient's quality of life after completion of radiation treatment. The use of our device reduces the overall required time for the radiation therapy of prostate cancer and saves money for health care providers, health insurances, and patients. This I-Corps project leverages the functionality of nickel titanium to retract the rectum away from the prostate during radiation beam therapy of prostate cancer. This will be a minimally invasive device that uses the biomimetic actuation of the material to create distance between rectum and prostate. NiTi as a biocompatible shape memory alloy is an ideal candidate for biomimetic and biocompatible devices. A control systems design is combined with thermomechanical functionality of the alloy to generate the desired range of motion and profile of force. The actuation takes place by passing a small electrical current in a reliable, clean, and silent manner. This type of actuation is potentially inherently safer when compared to most other means of actuation, because it has a limited range of motion beyond which applying more electrical current does not create further motion. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.