Page 88 - Demo

86For the right patientsPrecision medicine is the practice of tailoring treatment plans for each patient according to their demographics, genetics and clinical data, such as imaging results, blood chemistry and medical history. Prof. Cai%u2019s team uses AI and big data analytics to cross-match patient data with thousands of patient records to develop care plans that best suit each individual patient%u2019s needs.HITTING THE BULLSEYEAt the right timeAnother crucial factor in radiation therapy is time. As cancers may move when a patient breathes, still images may not be adequate to locate cancers in the thorax and abdomen. %u201cTumours may move 1 to 2cm during shallow breathing, and up to 5cm during deep breathing,%u201d explains Prof. Cai. Thus, to boost the accuracy of radiotherapy and reduce the toxic effects of radiation on healthy cells, Prof. Cai%u2019s team developed advanced 4D Magnetic Resonance Imaging (4D-MRI) and 4D Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (4D-MRF) techniques. A specific type of 4D-MRI, 4D-MRF not only measures tumour motion during breathing, but also accurately quantifies tissue properties such as density and the interaction between different tissues. Clinically, these techniques have been proven to target moving cancers, such as liver cancer, more precisely. This reduces the probability of radiation-induced liver damage from 50% to nearly 0%.