Investigation of the Causes of Acute Hypoxia and their Potential Exploitation to Improve the Efficacy of Radiotherapy

Graduate Investigator: Leonard Che Fru

Summary of Research: Cancer cells are more susceptible to radiation when they irradiated in the presence of oxygen. This effect can be even more consequential in hypofractionated treatment. Oxygen availability in a tumor is dynamic both in time and space. The goal of this project is to design and develop an optical device that uses of optical fiber spectroscopy to determine the presence of oxygen saturation in tissue in real-time, with the ability to use that information to modulate radiation during treatment in order to improve radiotherapy outcomes.