Monitor doses during FLASH radiotherapy

Consuelo Guardiola

Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM, CSIC), Spain

Cancer is one of the world's most significant public health issues. It is estimated that 20 % of the population will develop a tumour during their lifetime. About 50 % of patients undergo radiotherapy at least once during their treatment, contributing to 40 % of cures. Precise radiotherapy involves targeting the tumour with high enough doses to destroy it while avoiding damage to surrounding healthy organs. This presents a challenge in the field of medical physics, since excessively high doses could produce side effects in healthy tissues adjacent to the tumour.

In recent years, an innovative therapy called FLASH has opened up the possibility of overcoming this hurdle: with this new treatment modality, much higher doses can be administered at an ultra-fast speed. This makes it possible to increase the amount of radiation the tumour receives while reducing toxicity to healthy tissues. However, the clinical implementation of this innovative technique requires sensors capable of quantifying doses under these extreme radiation conditions. For this reason, the project will develop an instrument capable of monitoring the doses applied in FLASH therapy, which will make it possible to optimise its impact on patients.

• Faustino Gómez, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

• Sophie Heinrich, Institut Curie, Paris, France

• Carmen Jiménez, Centro Nacional de Aceleradores, Seville, Spain

DOSImetry monitor for FLASH therapy

€971,936.00