Sci-Tech

From basic research to clinical application, the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and relevant units jointly tackle key scientific research issues to benefit people's livelihood

2024-04-29   

In March 2020, China's first domestically produced medical heavy ion accelerator device with independent intellectual property rights, the carbon ion therapy system, was put into clinical application at the Wuwei Heavy Ion Center in Gansu. As of now, the carbon ion therapy system has treated nearly 1200 patients with various types of tumors. The core of the carbon ion treatment system, the medical heavy ion accelerator, is derived from the large scientific device Lanzhou Heavy Ion Research Device built by the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as the "Institute of Modern Physics"). From basic research to clinical application, from a scientific research tool to a medical device, the carbon ion therapy system has condensed the efforts of researchers for more than 30 years, breaking the monopoly of the large high-end radiotherapy market by foreign products. Applying basic research results to clinical treatment can release energy through space or matter in the form of waves or particles. The history of human use of radioactive elements and isotopes to treat tumors has been over 100 years, including gamma ray and X-ray photon radiotherapy, proton beam proton radiotherapy, and carbon ion beam heavy ion radiotherapy. Heavy ions refer to charged particles formed by atoms with atomic numbers greater than 2 after losing some or all of their electrons. Heavy ion beams have unique physical and biological properties and are considered ideal radiation for radiotherapy. "Heavy ion radiation has a unique depth dose distribution. During the process of passing through biological tissues, the dose deposited by heavy ion beams is relatively small, mainly forming a dose peak at the end of their range, known as the 'Bragg Peak' in the scientific community." Yang Jiancheng, Deputy Director of the Institute of Modern Physics, said, "Based on this characteristic, we can adjust the energy of heavy ions to make the 'Bragg Peak' precisely fall at the location of the tumor, protecting normal tissues and key organs while accurately killing tumor cells." The Institute of Modern Physics has over 60 years of technical accumulation in the field of heavy ions. Based on strong basic research support and accumulation of original achievements, researchers at the Institute of Modern Physics have been focusing on heavy ion therapy for cancer since 1993, applying basic research results to clinical treatment. In June 1995, the heavy ion cancer treatment technology research project "Basic Research on Advanced Technologies in Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Therapy" was funded by the National Climbing Program B. The Institute of Modern Physics has begun to comprehensively carry out experimental research in radiation biology, medical physics, and animal experiments. How to accurately match energy and beam based on tumor depth and size? Through research and development, researchers have created a method for artificially controlling the energy and shape of heavy ion beams - a three-dimensional dose sphere. Which heavy ion therapy has the best effect? Researchers chose animal tumor cells as experimental subjects and, with the support and cooperation of the Department of Biology at Lanzhou University, after multiple experiments, ultimately chose carbon ions... After overcoming a series of key technologies and solving safety issues, on March 1, 2006, China's first shallow tumor heavy ion therapy device passed the identification and acceptance of an expert group. Next, the research team of the Institute of Modern Physics will closely cooperate with the hospital to carry out preliminary clinical trial research. "In November of that year, we conducted preliminary clinical trials on four patients with superficial tumors using heavy ion therapy technology for the first time," said Li Qiang, director of the Biomedical Center of the Institute of Modern Physics

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