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08.03.2024 15:54, Gennady Detinich
Immediate practical results are rarely expected from big science, but there are exceptions. A recent example was using the sensor to record particle collisions at the LHC for mapping brain tissue when working with tumors. The sensor helps determine the contours of the tumor and makes it possible to destroy it with minimal harm to the patient.
Image source: CERN
Under normal conditions for electron beam irradiation of a tumor, a tissue map is created using preoperative computed tomography. By the time of surgery, the tissue may have moved and treatment of the tumor may not be accurate. The destruction of healthy brain tissue by an electron beam will not lead to anything good. The patient may lose fragments of memory, elements of sensory and motor skills.
To clearly detect the edges of malignant tissue, the Czech company ADVACAM used the Timepix sensor from Medipix Collaborations, created for experiments with elementary particles. The sensor detects secondary radiation in the form of electron beam scattering on living tissues and tumors. If the picture changes—healthy tissue enters the beam’s field of action—the beam’s work on the tumor stops. Now it’s just stopping the procedure for a new tomography.
In the future, the developers promise to create an installation for automatically controlling the projector during surgery, which will simplify and speed up the tumor removal procedure, as well as reduce the risk of damage to healthy tissue. The device created for CERN tasks will bring virtually immediate benefits that were not even expected during its development.
2024-03-08 12:54:00
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