# One-click Automated 3D Treatment Planning for Radiopharmaceutical Therapy

> **NIH NIH R44** · VOXIMETRY, INC. · 2021 · $870,217

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT), an alternative to chemotherapy, has worked well in patients with
lymphoma, late-stage, metastatic prostate cancer, and neuroendocrine tumors. It is effective at delivering
pinpoint radioactivity specifically to metastatic tumor cells distributed throughout the body. Patients who are
treated with RPT agents typically receive the same amount of radioactivity even though the unique physiology
of each patient impacts biodistribution of the radioactive drug over time and can affect treatment outcome.
Alternatively, by imaging the radiation emitted by the RPT agent within the body, it is possible to calculate how
much radiation energy is deposited in tumors and normal tissues within an individual patient (“dosimetry”). This
information affords personalized medicine because the amount of radioactivity can be adjusted to avoid
underdosing (not enough tumor radiation to kill the tumor) or overdosing (too much radiation to normal tissue
that leads to side effects) the patient. From experience with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), we know
that patient-specific prescriptions based on absorbed dose ("treatment planning") lead to better patient
outcomes. Like EBRT, patient-specific treatment planning for RPT requires sophisticated dosimetry tools that
Voximetry Inc (“Vox”) has developed. As part of a previous Phase I SBIR grant, Vox has developed a Monte
Carlo dosimetry algorithm which leverages the enormous computing power of graphics processing units
(GPUs) to perform voxel-based dosimetry. Our approach will make treatment planning faster and more
accurate, so that it can be used clinically to compute patient-specific dosimetry within minutes as opposed to
tens of hours required on central processing units (CPUs). Vox will ultimately benefit cancer patients by making
available a personalized treatment that targets metastatic cancer that in many cases is more efficacious and
has fewer side effects than chemotherapy. In this proposal, we aim to integrate our fully benchmarked and IP-
protected dosimetry algorithm into an automated, cost-effective RPT treatment planning solution, Torch, by
adding additional features such as image registration, contour propagation, and voxel-based pharmacokinetic
(PK) modeling. Torch will not only be the most accurate product on the market, it will be 1/3 of the cost of
competitors’ offerings. The specific aims that will be accomplished in the proposal are to (1) develop GPU-
accelerated deformable image registration and contour propagation within the Torch workflow, (2) develop
GPU-accelerated pharmacokinetic modeling for voxel-level time activity curve integration, and (3) validate
Torch through beta testing using computational phantoms and patient data. The successful completion of
these aims will support a commercially viable product that is ready for clinical use. This product will be proven
safe and effective in a retrospective clinical trial which will be ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10240330
- **Project number:** 5R44CA221491-03
- **Recipient organization:** VOXIMETRY, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Joseph Grudzinski
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $870,217
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10240330

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10240330, One-click Automated 3D Treatment Planning for Radiopharmaceutical Therapy (5R44CA221491-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10240330. Licensed CC0.

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