(ANSA) – BOLOGNA, MARCH 27 – At the Enea Research Center in Brasimone, in the Bolognese Apennines, a project is being developed to treat advanced stage solid tumors with neutron radiotherapy, directly during surgery in the operating theatre. In fact, the first prototype patented in Italy of a Compact Neutron Generator (CNG) has been installed.
It is a 35 cm long cylinder with a diameter of 18, light, self-shielded and installable on a mobile robotic arm, capable of generating an intense radiation field, with greater efficiency than other traditional forms of radiotherapy (such as X-rays, electrons or protons), with an exposure required no longer than 10 minutes, one-shot, intraoperatively. Designed by the US company Berkion Technology, the Compact Neutron Generator was created thanks to a collaboration agreement between Enea and the Italian company TheranostiCentre, as part of the Linc-ER project, funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region.
“The use of neutrons has a superior radiobiological effect and therefore they can be more effective in treating non-precocious solid tumors”, underlines Antonietta Rizzo, head of the Enea Laboratory of Nuclear Methods and Techniques for safety, monitoring and traceability.
“These conclusions are based on long and detailed simulations and physical models created thanks to the CRESCO6 supercomputer of Enea”, underlines Giuseppe Ottaviano of the Laboratory.
After the tests necessary to obtain the authorizations for its operation, by 2024, the Compact Neutron Generator will be placed inside a bunker for the subsequent phases.
“Our strategy is to look for a partner company capable of bringing the GNC to the complete configuration of the entire device that can be used in the operating room”, explains Maurizio Martellini of TheranostiCentre. “The ongoing phases – he concludes – concern the construction of a second prototype suitable for positioning in the operating room, on the basis of the tests carried out by Enea and the planning of in vivo tests at a European university clinic for a comparative study”.
(ANSA).
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