Micro CT/Micro Irradiator a New Resource Thanks to NIH Grant

Duke Cancer Institute researcher Greg Palmer, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, has been awarded an S10 shared instrumentation grant from the National Institutes of Health. The grant will fund a micro CT/micro irradiator for the Radiation Oncology Research Program.

"A micro CT/micro irradiator combines a micro CT imaging system with a targeted irradiator and treatment planning software allowing for precise control of delivery of radiation therapy," Palmer explained. "It will be used to delivery radiation to small animals to study cancer therapy as well as normal tissue responses. This system allows researchers to deliver precise treatment plans to target a specific organ or part of an organ for studying normal tissue responses, or for targeted treatment of tumor tissue in a manner that mimics clinical radiation therapy treatment plans."

This system will be operated as a shared resource and will be made available to all Duke researchers for an hourly fee. Palmer anticipates that a wide range of ongoing DCI research programs, including many outside of the Department of Radiation Oncology, will utilize this new resource.

"Due to the complexity of operating this system, we have a dedicated technician who is able to run the instrument and apply the therapy plans to the animals, so support is in place to help design and implement these studies," Palmer said.