Sliced section CT scan of a human head, showing the cerebral cortex through to the sinus cavities

Date

2024-04-04

Link

18NRM02 PRISM-eBT project website

Contact

Thorsten Schneider

Author

Anna Stricker

EMPIR project raises awareness of new calibration methods for electronic brachytherapy devices

The project partners publicised the metrological developments for electronic brachytherapy and were able to contribute to several standards

Electronic brachytherapy (eBT) is a type of radiotherapy that targets cancerous tissue using X-rays from a close range. Some benefits compared to other forms of radiotherapy include shorter treatment periods and lower treatment costs. However, there is a significant lack of standardisation for eBT systems, that mostly have unique, often indirect calibration methods with large uncertainties. Completed EMPIR project Primary standards and traceable measurement methods for X-ray emitting electronic brachytherapy devices (18NRM02, PRISM-eBT) developed a harmonised calibration method for eBT detectors, which includes calibration standards that can be used for both novel systems and quality-assurance checks of existing equipment.

Throughout the lifetime of the project, project partners participated in a variety of dissemination activities publicising the work of the project, including:

The project contributed to several standards, including IAEA-TECDOC-1274, DIN 6803-4 ‘Photonen-Brachytherapie’, and ISO TC85 SC2 Radiological protection.
The project regularly attended meetings at the standardisation organisation of their countries and presented updates from the PRISM-eBT project.
The consortium members organised six technical training visits to stakeholders and other consortium members to aid pan-European collaboration and ensure the uptake of the new calibration procedures for eBT devices.
In December 2022, a final workshop for stakeholders was held to discuss the results from the project.
Three open-access, peer-reviewed journal articles were published and can be accessed on the impact section on the project’s website.
Project partners produced 15 contributions (oral or poster presentations) to national and international conferences, including an invited presentation about the project outline at the Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards (CIRMS) conference in 2022.

The project coordinator Thorsten Schneider (PTB) comments on the success of the project:

“This is an important basis for the standardisation of dosimetry for this kind of treatment modality.”

This EMPIR project is co-funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the EMPIR Participating States.

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