Shawn (Liangzhong) Xiang Receives Two Grants to Advance Radiacoustic Imaging for Cancer Radiotherapy

Five-Year NIH R01 Grant (Precision Proton Therapy)

Shawn (Liangzhong) Xiang, PhD, UC Irvine professor of radiological sciences and biomedical engineering, has received a new NIH R01 grant for the project, “Protoacoustic Imaging for 3D Mapping the Bragg Peak in Real Time during Proton Therapy.” Xiang leads the project with multiple PIs, including Yong Chen, PhD, at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC), where the clinical studies will be conducted.

Proton therapy can precisely deliver radiation to tumors while reducing exposure to healthy tissues. Its key advantage is the Bragg peak, where protons deposit most of their energy at a specific depth. However, clinicians currently cannot directly visualize the Bragg peak inside the patient during treatment.

The five-year NIH R01 project will develop a 3D, real-time radiacoustic imaging technology to address this challenge. The technology detects acoustic signals generated by proton energy deposition and maps the Bragg peak in three dimensions. This real-time feedback could help clinicians verify beam delivery and identify changes caused by patient motion or anatomy.

The collaboration combines UC Irvine’s expertise in radiacoustic imaging with OUHSC’s expertise in proton therapy and clinical translation.

“One of the major challenges in proton therapy is knowing exactly where the proton beam deposits its energy inside the patient,” said Xiang. “Our goal is to make radiation delivery visible in real time and enable more precise and adaptive cancer treatment.”

Building on a longstanding UCI–OUHSC collaboration, the team has already conducted a pilot study using radiacoustic imaging in three patients with prostate cancer. The newly funded project will further develop and validate the technology and expand its clinical evaluation.

The project is an important step toward real-time, image-guided proton therapy and more precise, personalized cancer treatment.

2026 Proof-of-Product (PoP) Grant (UC Irvine Beall Applied Innovation)

Xiang has received a 2026 Proof-of-Product (PoP) Grant from UCI Beall Applied Innovation to accelerate the clinical translation of radiacoustic imaging.

Radiacoustic imaging detects acoustic signals generated by radiation energy deposition, enabling real-time visualization of radiation delivery inside the body. The PoP project will combine radiacoustic imaging with ultrasound to develop a platform for real-time image guidance and adaptive radiotherapy.

Xiang is also the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of SoundDose Inc., a UC Irvine spinout developing a “GPS for radiotherapy” to help clinicians visualize and guide radiation treatment in real time.

The technology is supported by four granted patents and additional pending patent applications, which are being advanced toward licensing to SoundDose Inc. through UC Irvine’s technology transfer office.

“Our goal is to make radiation delivery visible,” said Xiang. “This support will help move the technology from the laboratory toward clinical practice.”

The award advances the team’s efforts to translate real-time, image-guided adaptive radiotherapy into patient care.