SBIR-STTR Award

Machine Learning-Based Radiation Toxicity Mitigation in Pediatric Brain Cancer
Award last edited on: 2/18/19

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NCI
Total Award Amount
$224,726
Award Phase
1
Solicitation Topic Code
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Principal Investigator
Natasha Lepore

Company Information

Voxel Healthcare LLC (AKA: Advanced Medical Systems LLC)

529 South Broadway Unit 4041
Los Angeles, CA 90013
   (213) 453-1833
   info@voxelhealthcare.com
   www.voxelhealthcare.com
Location: Single
Congr. District: 34
County: Los Angeles

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43CA233346-01
Start Date: 9/14/18    Completed: 3/13/19
Phase I year
2018
Phase I Amount
$224,726
Radiation therapy (RT) has a proven record of efficacy in treating many forms of pediatric brain tumors. However, it is associated with long-term side effects due to damage to healthy tissue. This is especially important in the developing brain, where long-term deficits can be seen in the areas of intelligence, attention, memory and psychomotor processing. To mediate these deficits, there has been a push away from whole brain irradiation to more targeted treatment by using dose painting intensity modulated radiation therapy (DP-IMRT). However, in order to use these techniques, more information about how dosing to organs-at-risk (OARs) affects outcomes, including volumetric changes in the brain. Voxel Healthcare LLC (formerly Advanced Medical Systems LLC) is the developer of ClickBrain ? an automatic pediatric MR brain segmentation tool that uses cloud-based deep learning (Google TensorFlow) technology for radiology clinical decision support. In Aim 1a, we extend ClickBrain to ClickBrain RT ? a system that will combine ClickBrain's pre-treatment brain structure segmentation outputs with radiation planning CTs and MRs to calculate dosing to OARs. ClickBrain RT will also segment longitudinal MRIs (1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years) to track outcomes via volumetric changes. We will use OAR dosing, demographics, tumor type and grade, chemotherapy information, OAR and tumor volumetric measurements to predict tumor and OAR volumetric outcomes. We will adapt our existing version of a multi-time point machine learning technique to do this prediction task. In Aim 1b, a user interface for this cloud computing-based proof-of-concept system will be built to allow the RT planner to import patient information and see changes in predicted longitudinal post-RT OAR and tumor volumes, based on adjusting OAR dosages for a particular patient. Our initial validation (Aim 2) will focus on an existing database of 51 germ cell tumor patients acquired as part of standard of care and previous studies at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Germ cell tumors have relative uniform size and location and provide an ideal dataset to validate our proof-of-concept system. Our long-term goal for ClickBrain RT is to train the machine learning algorithm to provide optimized recommended OAR dosage ranges based on patient history and tumor information. Our software will allow radiation oncologists to optimize treatment and vastly improve long-term quality of life in pediatric brain tumor survivors.

Project Terms:
Adverse effects; Affect; Age; Algorithms; Area; Attention; Award; base; behavioral outcome; Brain; Brain imaging; Brain Neoplasms; brain tissue; brain volume; chemotherapy; Child; Childhood; Childhood Brain Neoplasm; Childhood Malignant Brain Tumor; Clinic; Clinical; Clinical Data; clinical decision support; cloud based; Cloud Computing; Cochlea; Computer software; cost; Cranial Irradiation; Data; Data Set; Databases; deep learning; demographics; design; Development; dosage; Dose; follow-up; Germ cell tumor; Goals; Grant; Healthcare; Height; Hippocampus (Brain); Hypothalamic structure; Image; improved; Intelligence; Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy; Lobe; Location; Los Angeles; Machine Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Manuals; Maps; Measurement; Measures; Mediating; Medical; Medical Records; Memory; Methods; Microtomy; morphometry; multitask; negative affect; oncology; open source; Optic Chiasm; Organ; Outcome; outcome prediction; Output; Patients; Pediatric Hospitals; Phase; Physicians; Pituitary Gland; Prediction of Response to Therapy; Quality of life; Radiation; Radiation Dosage; Radiation Oncologist; Radiation Oncology; Radiation therapy; Radiation Toxicity; Radiologic Technology; Recording of previous events; Risk; Scheme; sex; Site; Small Business Technology Transfer Research; standard of care; Structure; Survivors; System; targeted treatment; Techniques; Technology; TensorFlow; Time; Tissues; tool; Training; Treatment Efficacy; treatment optimization; Treatment outcome; treatment planning; tumor; Tumor Volume; Validation; Weight; Work;

Phase II

Contract Number: ----------
Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
Phase II year
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Phase II Amount
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