# Development of mmWave technology for safe radiation treatment delivery

> **NIH NIH R03** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $78,750

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Radiation therapy offers cures to cancer patients but also is prone to error. Although the radiation oncology
society sets up strict quality assurance and safety procedures to prevent treatment errors, they are difficult
to follow on every treatment due to time, labor cost and other constraints. Automation is highly desired to
improve treatment safety. The millimeter-wave (mmWave), which has been broadly employed to detect the
collision and prevent an accident before it happens, can penetrate the patient’s clothing, immobilization
device and tabletop, detect patient’s position automatically. Multiple mmWave devices may be installed in
the treatment room, verify setup and detect patient motion automatically when integrated with treatment
control software. The low-cost mmWave can potentially eliminate many major treatment errors without
increasing labor costs. The nonionizing mmWave can also monitor the patient’s motion continuously and
detect any intrafraction motion during treatment delivery. To achieve this goal, we will perform a study to
achieve the following specific aims (SAs) -- SA1: Develop mmWave algorithms that can measure the
absolute distance to the patient surface, and SA2: To develop and validate the mmWave technology to
monitor a patient’s movement and breathing during RT delivery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10109473
- **Project number:** 1R03EB030669-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Tiezhi Zhang
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $78,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-15 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10109473

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10109473, Development of mmWave technology for safe radiation treatment delivery (1R03EB030669-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10109473. Licensed CC0.

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