PhD student in medical physics focusing on DECT-based methods for tissue characterization in preparation for proton therapy treatment planning. I also work with radiation protection.
PhD student in medical physics focusing on dual-energy CT (DECT) and DECT-based methods for tissue characterization in preparation for proton therapy treatment planning.
Due to the characteristic depth-dose profile and finite range of protons, proton therapy has the potential to improve quality of life for patients after successful treatment, in particular for pediatric patients. To utilize this potential, accurate mapping of proton stopping power ratios (SPR) is essential. SPR maps are conventionally obtained by scanning the patient with a computed tomography (CT) scanner and converting the CT numbers to SPRs. Multiple approaches have been proposed to improve SPR prediction by utilizing the extra information acquired with a dual-energy CT (DECT) scanner. In my research, I have presented and evaluated a method to predict proton SPRs in which the formalism of Jackson and Hawkes is directly applied on virtual mono-energetic (VM) images. The method does not require calibration and is applicable with any DECT scanner capable of generating VM images, i.e., all currently commercially available systems.
Holds a lecture about Dual-Energy CT and Photon Counting CT in the course Physics of X-rays.