Radiation Science Research Articles

Preface

Micro-Mini & Nano Dosimetry and Innovative Technologies in Radiation Oncology - MMND ITRO 2020 The biannual Micro-Mini & Nano Dosimetry and Innovative Technologies in Radiation Oncology (MMND ITRO 2020) international conferences organized by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP), University of Wollongong jointly with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York were hold on the 10th-16th February 2020 at the Novotel Wollongong Northbeach, Wollongong, NSW, Australia. During MMND ITRO 2020 we celebrated 20th Anniversary of these biannual workshops.Continuing the series of biennial meetings, the Mini- Micro- Nano- Dosimetry (MMND) conference brought together international and Australian radiation oncologists, medical physicists, radiation scientists and nanomedicine experts. Talks were focused on new achievements in radiobiology of radiation therapy including particle therapy and synchrotron MRT, diffused alpha emitters radiation therapy (DaRT) in combination with immunotherapy, radiomics and artificial intelligence as applied to radiation therapy and imaging, advanced dosimetry in radiotherapy, diagnostic imaging and diagnostic radiology for physicists. Special half-day sessions were led by experts from MSKCC on New Technologies in Brachytherapy by Prof. Michael Zelefsky MD, and Radiomics and Machine Learning Models by Prof. Joseph Deasy PhD.Innovative Technologies in Radiation Oncology (ITRO) led by Dr Josh Yamada, MD was devoted to the clinical implementation of new technologies in X-ray therapy, brachytherapy and particle therapy. ITRO 2020 focused on integrating advanced imaging into radiation therapy including MRI guided radiotherapy, MRI for tissue radiation response prediction, imaging in prediction of patient response to immunotherapy, SBRT, SRS, hypofractionation and particle therapy as well as applications of radiomics and artificial intelligence in radiation oncology and radiology.

The use of virtual reality computed tomography simulation within a medical imaging and a radiation therapy undergraduate programme.

IntroductionThe use of virtual reality (VR) simulation in the education of healthcare professionals has expanded into the field of medical radiation sciences. The purpose of this research was to report on the student experience of the integration of VR education for both medical imaging (MI) and radiation therapy (RT) students in learning computed tomography (CT) scanning.MethodsA survey was performed to evaluate students’ perceived confidence in performing diagnostic and planning CT scans in the clinical environment following VR CT simulation tutorials. Students from both MI and RT participated in providing quantitative and qualitative data.ResultsThe MI students (n = 28) and RT students (n = 38) provided quantitative results linking their engagement (perceived usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment) with their perceived confidence. The 15 (54%) MI students who recorded a maximum engagement score had a mean confidence score 1.02 higher than the students not fully engaged (Fisher’s exact test 14.549, P = 0.00). The results from the RT cohort revealed 68% of students agreed or strongly agreed to the addition of VR CT simulation helping in the learning of CT.ConclusionIt can be concluded that the integration of innovative learning opportunities such as VR CT simulation has the potential to increase student confidence and improve student preparation for the clinical environment.

Thermal-neutron capture cross sections and resonance integrals of the 243Am(n,γ)244gAm and 243Am(n,γ)244m+gAm reactions

ABSTRACT The thermal-neutron capture cross sections (σ0) and resonance integrals (I0) were measured for the 243Am(n,γ)244gAm and 243Am(n,γ)244m+gAm reactions by a neutron activation method. Americium-243 samples were irradiated with a pneumatic tube and a hydraulic conveyer installed in the research reactor in Institute for Integral Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University. Alloy wires of Au/Al, Co/Al or Co foils were used as neutron monitors to measure thermal-neutron fluxes and epi-thermal Westcott’s indexes at irradiation positions. A 25-μm-thick gadolinium foil was used to separate reactions due to thermal- and epi-thermal neutron components, and a value of 0.133 eV was taken as a corresponding cut-off energy. Gamma-ray spectroscopy was applied to measure radioactivity of neutron monitors and the ground state of reaction products, while alpha-ray spectroscopy was applied to measure that of target 243Am and final reaction product 244Cm through the decay of 244m, 244gAm. By utilizing Westcott’s convention, the σ0 and I0 values were derived as 4.73 ± 0.27 barn and 96.5 ± 8.9 barn for the 243Am(n,γ)244gAm reaction, and 88.5 ± 4.0 barn and 2.30 ± 0.20 kilobarn for the 243Am(n,γ)244m+gAm reaction, respectively. The present result of σ0 for the production of 244m+gAm agreed with the reported value of 87.7 ± 5.4 barn measured with a time-of-flight method within the limits of uncertainties.

COVID-19 impact on undergraduate teaching: Medical radiation science teaching team experience

The COVID-19 crisis has caused a number of significant challenges to the higher education sector. Universities worldwide have been forced to rapidly transition to online delivery, working at home, and disruption to research while concurrently facing the longer-term impacts in institution financial reform. Here, the impact of COVID-19 on academic staff in the medical radiation science (MRS) teaching team at Charles Sturt University are explored.While COVID-19 imposes potentially the greatest challenge many of us will experience in our personal and professional lifetimes, it also affords the opportunity to objectively re-evaluate and, where appropriate, re-design learning and teaching in higher education. Technology has allowed rapid assimilation to online learning environments with additional benefits that allow flexible, mobile, agile, sustainable, culturally safe and equitable learning focussed educational environments in the post-COVID-19 “new normal”.

Strategies to develop student support mechanisms in medical radiation sciences clinical education

Clinical placement experience is an important component of medical radiation science (MRS) education, equipping students to safely transition into complex healthcare environments. This commentary draws on evidence from the literature that reports challenges allied health students face in clinical environments. As several factors are implicated that could result in a higher prevalence of psychological distress and mental ill-health in MRS students, there is a need to re-emphasize the importance of developing strategies to support students in clinical education. A key recommendation is to identify associated risk factors early as they can impact on the quality of education and in severe cases be detrimental to students' psychological well-being. This requires an understanding of the full extent and nature of the challenges through partnered approaches between professional organisations, clinical departments, academics and students. Developing evidence-based strategies for improving students’ well-being in clinical environments is also essential.

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

A Tale of Two MRIs

A Tale of Two MRIs

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

Review of pulsed power-driven high energy density physics research on Z at Sandia

Pulsed power accelerators compress electrical energy in space and time to provide versatile experimental platforms for high energy density and inertial confinement fusion science. The 80-TW “Z” pulsed power facility at Sandia National Laboratories is the largest pulsed power device in the world today. Z discharges up to 22 MJ of energy stored in its capacitor banks into a current pulse that rises in 100 ns and peaks at a current as high as 30 MA in low-inductance cylindrical targets. Considerable progress has been made over the past 15 years in the use of pulsed power as a precision scientific tool. This paper reviews developments at Sandia in inertial confinement fusion, dynamic materials science, x-ray radiation science, and pulsed power engineering, with an emphasis on progress since a previous review of research on Z in Physics of Plasmas in 2005.

Introducing the Journal of Nuclear Engineering: An Interdisciplinary Open Access Journal Dedicated to Publishing Research in Nuclear and Radiation Sciences and Applications

In 1938, Strassmann, Hahn and Meitner discovered neutron-induced nuclear fission in uranium, forever changing our world and opening multiple paths to developing nuclear energy, nuclear medicine, instrumentation, space propulsion, environmental monitoring, remediation and nuclear security [...]

First demonstration of coherent resonant backward diffraction radiation for a quasi-monochromatic terahertz-light source

We proposed coherent resonant backward diffraction radiation (CRBDR), which generates wavelength-tunable quasi-monochromatic lights using a compact diffractor assembly in an accelerator facility of high-energy electron beams, as a unique intense terahertz (THz) light source. Superimposing the coherent backward diffracted radiation emitted by periodically arranged hollow diffractors, it is possible to amplify the frequency components satisfying a resonant condition, and make the radiation monochromatic. We demonstrated the CRBDR using the L-band linac at the Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science at Kyoto University. It was observed that the coherent backward diffraction radiation was amplified more than three times at a frequency which was the fundamental resonant frequency in the CRBDR theory. Moreover, the number of diffractors at the saturation of the radiation power was consistent with the number estimated from the electron distribution in a bunch. The experimental results show that the CRBDR is useful as a quasi-monochromatic light source in the THz band.

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

Evaluation of PHITS for microdosimetry in BNCT to support radiobiological research

The aim of this paper is to validate the microdosimetric functionality of the Monte Carlo code, PHITS, and verify its use for estimating dose and RBE for radiobiological studies performed at Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science (KURNS). Lineal energy spectra produced by the KUR mixed irradiation mode were measured with a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) place in free air. The Monte Carlo calculation showed a good agreement with the measured data. In the second part of the study, a realistic set-up of a typical in-vivo radiobiological experiment was simulated with PHITS and the simulation results were compared against TLD and gold foil activation measurements. The Monte Carlo simulation results and the measured data showed an agreement within 3%. The calculated RBE also showed a close value to clinically utilised values. This study shows that PHITS can be utilised to evaluate thermal neutron fluxes and gamma ray absorbed dose rates inside a tumour like medium.

A Systematic Review of Healthcare-Associated Infectious Organisms in Medical Radiation Science Departments.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose a significant occupational risk to medical radiation science (MRS) professionals, who have a high degree of patient contact. Current research largely focusses on HAIs in patients, with limited attention given to infectious organisms that MRS professionals are exposed to. This is a significant gap that this systematic review seeks to address by summarizing current literature to determine the infectious organisms within MRS departments, their reservoirs, and transmission modes. Reporting of this systematic review follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. Five databases were searched (Scopus, Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)) for relevant studies published between 1983 and 2018. Quality assessment was performed using checklists from the Johanna Briggs Institute. Nineteen studies were included in the review; twelve of which were set in diagnostic radiography departments, two in radiotherapy departments, and five in non-MRS departments. No studies were set in nuclear medicine departments, indicating a gap in the available literature. A total of 19 genera of infectious organisms were identified in the literature, with Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Bacillus, and Corynebacterium reported in all MRS departments. Infectious organisms were identified in all observational studies, indicating a need for better infection control methods and/or compliance training within MRS to minimize the risk of infections.

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

Information for Authors Submission Instructions for IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences (TRPMS)

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences

An experimental setup for creating and imaging 4He2 * excimer cluster tracers in superfluid helium-4 via neutron-3He absorption reaction.

For the purpose of future visualization of the flow field in superfluid helium-4, clusters of the triplet state excimer 4He2 * are generated along the micro-scale recoil tracks of the neutron-absorption reaction n + 3He → 3T + p. This reaction is induced by neutron irradiation of the 3He fraction contained in natural isotopic abundance liquid helium with neutron beams either from the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex, Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (JPARC)/Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility or from the Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Radiation and Nuclear Science. These 4He2 * clusters are expected to be ideal tracers of the normal-fluid component in superfluid helium with several advantageous properties. Evidence of the excimer generation is inferred by detection of laser induced fluorescence emitted from the 4He2 * clusters excited by a purpose-built short pulse gain-switched titanium:sapphire (Ti:sa) laser operating at a wavelength of 905 nm. The setup and performance characteristics of the laser system including the Ti:sa and two continuous wave re-pumping lasers are described. Detection at the fluorescence wavelength of 640 nm is performed by using optical bandpass filtered photomultiplier tubes (PMT). Electrical noise in the PMT acquisition traces could successfully be suppressed by post-processing with a simple algorithm. Despite other laser-related backgrounds, the excimer was clearly identified by its fluorescence decay characteristics. Production of the excimer was found to be proportional to the neutron flux, adjusted via insertion of different collimators into the neutron beam. These observations suggest that the apparatus we constructed does function in the expected manner and, therefore, has the potential for groundbreaking turbulence research with superfluid helium.