Akila Viswanathan
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Medicine & Clinical Research
Cervical cancer is diagnosed in over 500,000 women each year and is a major cause of death worldwide. Women with locally advanced disease usually receive external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), with radiation aimed from outside the body.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Biomedical Engineering
Physics
- Topics
cervical cancer
brachytherapy
radiation oncology
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2027
What they work on
- Develop multi-parametric MRI maps of perfusion, diffusion, fibrosis and oxygenation that help expert clinicians distinguish residual cervical tumor from normal tissue after external beam radiation.
- Build an active-obturator MRI coil placed in the vagina that cuts brachytherapy MRI scan times by more than 50%.
- Integrate flexible, actively tracked metallic catheters with the Elekta Venezia applicator so catheters can be placed into tumor faster and more precisely under MRI.
- Create instantaneous intraoperative dose mapping that uses current catheter positions to suggest the clinician's next move, and validate the full platform in 20 cervical cancer patients.
More about the research
This is followed by brachytherapy, in which hollow catheters are placed directly into the tumor that survives EBRT so that radiation can be delivered from inside it. Catheters are often placed without guidance and can end up in blood vessels, the rectum or the bladder. Telling leftover tumor from normal tissue after EBRT is also difficult. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided brachytherapy improves survival and reduces complications, but the procedure is slow and labor-intensive.
Why it matters
For women with locally advanced cervical cancer, more accurate tumor mapping and catheter placement could lower the risk of the cancer coming back. Keeping radiation out of nearby healthy organs could also reduce side effects. A faster, simpler MRI-guided procedure could make this treatment more widely used. The same tools may also benefit patients with recurrent endometrial, vaginal or prostate cancer.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
Johns Hopkins University: 100 labs on PI Pages, $4.1B a year on research, 622 research doctorates a year.
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