CoBra – Technical Workshop on Brachytherapy

COBRA TECHNICAL WORKSHOP
Towards smart technologies for diagnosis and treatment of localised cancers

June 25^th, 2019
10.30 am – 12.00 pm / Room Van Gogh 1

CoBra – Technical Workshop on Brachytherapy will be held during MedFIT with an afternoon conference on June 25th. CoBra will also hold a stand during MedFIT convention and participate to MedFIT one-to-one meetings. The round table will be composed of doctors, industrials and led by the leader of the CoBra project. Discussions will focus on opening up innovative technology for diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Professor Rochdi Merzouki will lead the round table and will begin with a presentation of the CoBra project and its progress.

List of experts speakers

– Prof. Rochdi Merzouki – Professor Robotics & Mechatronics / CoBra Project leader
CRIStAL-UMR CNRS 9189 / University of Lille
– Prof. Jean-Pierre Pruvo – University professor and hospital practitioner (PU PH) / Head of Neuroradiology Department
Lille University Hospital
– Dr. Maximilien Vermandel – Associate Professor / Medical Physicist
Inserm OncoThai / University of Lille / Lille University Hospital
– Dr. Christophe Szymanski – Surgeon / Hospital practitioner Orthopedic department
Lille University Hospital
– Dr. Klaus Düring – Chief Executive Officer
MaRVis Interventional
– Dr. Rutger Fick – Lead Optimization Architect
TheraPanacea
– Dr. Jérôme Benoit – Veterinary Radiation Oncologist
Oncovet

About CoBra

Technological innovation for biopsy and brachytherapy under MRI control, in order to improve diagnosis and treatment of localised cancers

Clinical context:
Prostate cancer is the fourth most common cancer in Europe, for both combined sexes and the second most common cancer in men. Treatment of such cancer can be performed by surgery, external radiotherapy (RT) or brachytherapy. Surgery consists in removing the entire prostate, while RT involves irradiating the target volume with a particle accelerator. Brachytherapy is a technique better tolerated by patients, aiming to irradiate a target volume by placing radioisotopes emitting low or high ionizing radiation in it or in its contact, only in one intervention. However it presents also certain practical limits, such as: manual handling of radioactive needles that raises fears among practitioners; impotence, incontinence and trauma of patient.

Objectives:
The CoBra project aims to improve the quality of both diagnosis and treatment of localised cancers, by developing a new medical robot prototype for brachytherapy and biopsy under guidance of MRI. The overall objectives of the project is to improve the accuracy of cancer diagnosis, and to increase the accuracy of treatment, increasing cure rates and minimising side effects. The prostate and other soft tissues will be the main localised cancers of interest in the Cobra project.