# Image-Guided Radiation Therapy System for Small Animals

> **NIH NIH S10** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $600,000

## Abstract

Radiation therapy is used to treat approximately 50% of all patients with cancer. To improve the cure
rate with radiation therapy and to decrease the short- and long-term side effects of radiation, we have
received multiple NIH grants to study radiation biology in small animals. Duke University was one of the
first centers to obtain a first generation microCT/micro-irradiator for use in small animals (X-RAD
225Cx), which has supported one of the most successful research programs in the country in radiation
therapy, radiation injury, and imaging. Major technological improvements in target localization,
treatment planning, and radiation delivery in combination with functional imaging have occurred since
that time, and these capabilities are essential for our radiation research to better mimic human radiation
therapy and therefore have the most relevance and impact. To improve our ability to carry out clinically
meaningful research in radiation biology, we request a shared instrument that combines on-board
imaging capabilities (micro-CT), with conformal small beam radiation therapy and advanced treatment
planning software that is capable of the same treatment planning approaches and metrics most
commonly used today in the clinic. This is incorporated into the Xstrahl Small Animal Radiation
Research Platform (SARRP). The proposed instrument uses state-of-the-art technology for small
animals that rigorously simulates the radiation therapy planning and treatment conditions of our
patients. We propose to use this technology to investigate (1) mechanisms of tumor control and (2)
normal tissue injury by radiation therapy. We will utilize the on-board imaging and the custom
collimators to safely deliver large doses of radiation with high precision and accuracy to dissect
mechanisms of tumor control. This approach will allow us to study the clinically meaningful endpoint of
tumor cure. Moreover, the ability to image small animals and localize the tumor target before each
treatment will facilitate fractionated radiation therapy schedules for small animals, which are routinely
used to treat patients in the clinic. The instrument will also allow us to have the unprecedented ability to
focus radiation therapy on part of an organ, to create dose volume histograms (DVHs) to study
mechanisms of normal tissue injury, and to model advanced approaches for cancer therapy (e.g.
sparing lymph nodes for immunotherapy studies). This approach will avoid multi-organ injury by the
radiation treatment and will thereby facilitate studies of radiation-induced normal tissue injury in small
animals. In summary, this technology offers a dramatic improvement in our ability to study fundamental
radiation biology questions using the same technology with which we treat patients. Combining this
novel instrument with the extensive expertise in radiation research at Duke will bring about new
discoveries and will facilitate their translation into improved cancer therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10176686
- **Project number:** 1S10OD028575-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** GREGORY MATHEW PALMER
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $600,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10176686

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10176686, Image-Guided Radiation Therapy System for Small Animals (1S10OD028575-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10176686. Licensed CC0.

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