Printable Organic X-Ray Sensors Could Transform Treatment for Cancer Patients

Every day, thousands of people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer, and around half of them will undergo radiotherapy. The goal of radiotherapy is to use an external beam of ionizing radiation to target and damage cancer cells while minimizing harm to healthy cells and surrounding organs. Achieving precise treatment delivery is crucial for optimizing outcomes and reducing side effects, such as radiation-induced damage, which can be debilitating. For instance, acute skin toxicity is a common side effect in breast cancer patients, affecting 70 to 100 percent of them. This highlights the importance of safely administering radiation in medicine to improve patient outcomes. Now, researchers have discovered that wearable organic X-ray sensors could offer a solution to ensure safer radiotherapy for cancer patients.

An international research team, led by the University of Wollongong (NSW, Australia), has explored the potential of wearable organic X-ray sensors to improve cancer treatment protocols. Unlike traditional silicon-based detectors, organic semiconductors are lightweight, affordable, printable, and stretchable. Moreover, their carbon-based composition makes them biocompatible, offering the first radiation-sensitive response suitable for the human body. These sensors can directly monitor radiation exposure during cancer treatments, allowing real-time adjustments that reduce damage to healthy tissues. However, the behavior of organic X-ray sensors is not fully understood, which prompted the team to investigate their capabilities.

The researchers focused on evaluating the electronic performance and radiation stability of organic X-ray sensors when exposed to clinical radiation beams. They found that under standard radiotherapy conditions, the organic sensors could detect incident X-rays regardless of the energy or dose rate, while transmitting 99.8 percent of the beam. This ability means the sensors can be worn by patients during treatment, enabling continuous monitoring of X-ray exposure without interfering with the treatment protocol, ultimately improving safety and clinical outcomes. One promising application is microbeam radiation therapy, a treatment modality targeting otherwise untreatable tumors, such as those found in brain cancer. Although this treatment has shown positive results, the lack of a reliable detector for quality assurance has hindered its full potential. The next phase of the research will focus on applying data science techniques to accelerate the development of these sensors and translate them into real-world applications.

“Our study demonstrated that flexible organic sensors can detect microbeam x-rays with a precision of 2 percent and that they exhibit similar radiation tolerance to silicon-based detectors ensuring reliable and long-term use under these dangerous radiation fields,” said Dr. Jessie Posar from UOW’s School of Physics who is leading the research team exploring the behavior of organic X-ray sensors. “There is still a lot of unknown physics to explore. But our work shows that organic semiconductors exhibit the ideal properties for wearable and personalized X-ray sensing to improve the accuracy and safety in oncology towards tailored radiation delivery that maximizes therapeutic effectiveness and reduces harm to healthy tissues. This innovation could revolutionize personalized radiation therapy, offering a new level of safety and effectiveness in patient care.”