Cooperative Brachytherapy Project
The CoBra (Cooperative Brachytherapy) project aims to develop an innovative technology for robotic biopsy and brachytherapy under MRI guidance https://cobra-2seas.eu/ . The five year project commenced early 2018 and is funded by EU Interreg 2 Seas, involving institutions from the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and France, led by the University of Lille. The project aims to improve the quality of both diagnosis and treatment of localized cancers, initially in the prostate with potential applications for other sites. The main deliverable will be a robotic arm for both biopsy and brachytherapy treatment (LDR and HDR), utilising a single perineum puncture needle technique, with high precision and accuracy under real-time MRI guidance.
Tony Palmer, Consultant Clinical Scientist in Medical Physics is leading this project at PHT, where the team are responsible for:
- Providing detailed technical and clinical specifications for low and high dose rate Brachytherapy.
- Liaising with the companies and partners developing the robotic technology to ensure the produce meets clinical requirements.
- Working in partnership with the University of Portsmouth to design a phantom to allow end-to-end testing of the accuracy of treatment delivery.
