Developing a Real-Time Cancer Cell Tracking Algorithm for Cancer Patients

A major health challenge our societies are about to face on the long-term is cancer, as it is already the primary cause of death in France and the second one in the US. As a way to tackle it, one of the most used techniques nowadays is radiotherapy. It uses high-dose radiations to kill cancer cells detected with medical imaging. Yet, as cancer can be located in sensitive areas, and in a bid to protect surrounding healthy tissues, radiations must be precise and directional. Despite science progress in imaging, today’s medical imaging techniques fail to give sufficient precision to reach that goal. A brand-new technique has been built to raise imaging precision, using a biological tracer in cancer patients to highlight individual cancer cells. Such precise an information is key to send directive radiations, avoiding surrounding healthy cells damages, as well as raising dosage in radiation to reduce the number of needed shots. Within my stay, I will work on image processing, more specifically on building an algorithm that will be able to restructure the cancer’s image in 3D from the scanner, to provide the right directional instruction to radiations.