Biomedical Physics: Computational Radiobiology
The activity of the Computational Radiobiology group is focused on the development and application of biophysical models and Monte Carlo codes that simulate the action of ionizing radiation in biological targets, with particular attention on chromosome damage and cell death and on the application of such models in cancer hadrontherapy. The main aim of any cancer therapy is indeed to maximize the probability of tumor cell death and to minimize the normal tissue damage, of which chromosome aberrations are an important indicator. One of the main working tools is a Monte Carlo code called BIANCA (BIophysical ANalysis of Cell death and chromosome Aberrations), which calculates the probability of cell death and chromosome damage in cells irradiated with different doses of photons, protons and heavier ions, including those used in hadrontherapy.
The activity of the group is carried out in collaboration with different national and international institutions including CNAO, University of Naples, Istituto Nazionale Tumori di Milano, CERN (FLUKA collaboration), IRSN-Paris and University of Campinas (Brazil), and is supported by INFN.
Two are the main objectives of this activity: on one side, to clarify the open questions on the mechanisms that govern the induction of chromosome damage and cell death by ionizing radiation; on the other side, to develop applications aimed to the biological optimization of tumor treatment plans with charged particles, typically protons, Carbon ions and othetr ions of interest for hadrontherapy, such as Helium and Oxygen. In view of such applications, an activity has recently started to realize an interface between the BIANCA code and FLUKA, a Monte Carlo transport code that is used in different hadrontherapy centres including CNAO in Pavia and HIT in Heidelberg.
Staff: Francesca Ballarini, Mario Carante, Elio Giroletti.