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Preclinical Radiotherapy Facility

The Preclinical Radiotherapy platform, with rotating X-ray gantry, combines cone beam CT imaging and x-ray microbeam targeting.

The XStrahl preclinical radiotherapy platform allows preclinical work, including imaging, target localization and treatment delivery, to be analogous to the clinical radiotherapy techniques used to treat patients. The platform incorporates 3D imaging, precision micro-irradiation and targeted dose delivery. Bespoke software is used for 3D image reconstruction and treatment planning, targeting radiation exposure to a given depth and biological dose measured in Gy.

Applications:

  • Preclinical radiotherapy
  • Radiobiology
  • Bystander effects
  • Testing radiosensitizers
  • Inducing DNA damage
  • Studying tumour biology and the micro-environment
  • Coupling spatially targeted radiotherapy with molecularly targeted therapies
  • Evaulation of tumour control following radiotherapy

Xstrahl SARRP

Booking

Book Equipment here

Following appropriate training, you will be given access to the relevant booking calendars on the Clustermarket Bookkit system.

Download our instrument leaflet here

Technical specifications

X-ray tube
  • Nominal voltage: 225 kV
  • Tube current: Fine 2.8 mA, Broad 13 mA
  • Target: Tungsten
  • Inherent filtration: 0.8 ± 0.1 mm Be
Cone beam CT scan and GPU reconstruction
  • 50 kV to 100 kV X‐Rays, multiple low dose projections to flat panel detector.
  • 1.00 mm focal spot, 60 seconds to complete scan with 360 projections.
Software

Image reconstruction software for image rendering, segmentation and coregistration with other imaging modalities, if required. Dose-planning software and 3D-reconstruction enables clinically relevant treatment planning and dosimetry validation, prior to the radiation exposure, for exposure time at a given depth and cGy value.

Accuracy

0.25 mm at dose isocentre; minimum field size 0.5 mm diameter.

The platform includes a robotic specimen stage and rotating X-ray gantry, enabling radiation dose to be precisely delivered through X lateral, Y longitudinal and Z vertical axis and 360 degrees of rotation. Fixed and variable collimators are incorporated to refine beam targeting.