Sat, 16 May 2026 RO   EN        Project List » Dose RAte Measurement and identification of biological effects in a Laser-Plasma Accelerator at ELI-NP Dose RAte Measurement and identification of biological effects in a Laser-Plasma Accelerator at ELI-NP www.nipne.ro/proiecte/pn4/17-projects.html Acronym: DRAM Contracting Authority: IFA Number / Date of the contract: ELI-RO/RDI/2024-040 / 2024-09-12 Program: PN-IV-P5.9/Subprogramul 5.9.1 Project Manager: Dr. Ovidiu Tesileanu Partners: University of Bucharest Starting date / finishing date: 2024-09-13 / 2026-06-30 Project value: 3962348 RON Abstract: In recent years, the radiation applied at ultrahigh dose rates (several orders of magnitude higher than the clinical standard of the order of Gy/min) has become a hot topic for the scientific and medical community, as it can enable the FLASH effect - a promising candidate for the next advancement in cancer radiotherapy (RT)[1]. Recently, many research groups have conducted both theoretical and experimental studies on biological effects of accelerated electrons with energies of 100-250 MeV (called VHEE in the medical community) on tumor cells [2,3], but only a few studies were done on laser-plasma accelerated (LPA) VHEE electrons and only in a few cases, the dosimetric values of interest were determined experimentally [4]. This project proposes to develop at ELI-NP an LPA VHEE dosimetry system able to provide quantities required by the medical applications - with the possibility of a real-time measurement - i.e. dose-per-pulse, depth-dose distributions, peak dose rates, mean dose rates, total absorbed dose. This will include the development of a water phantom with an innovative online detection system for electrons and for the electron bunch duration measurement, and the test experiments with biomedical relevance which will benefit from the more precise knowledge of the dosimetric quantities (needed for the quantitative studies and understanding of the FLASH effect). The experiments to be performed at ELI-NP in this project will aim for the generation of VHEE-range accelerated electron based on the high power, high repetition rate laser output at 100TW and a gas target delivered in pulses with a supersonic gas valve. The project will integrate relevant existing expertise in Nuclear physics and biophysics and biomedical applications provided by two top research and higher education institutions in Romania which partner for the project, with the unique capabilities of the ELI-NP laser-based infrastructure towards the design, construction, testing and commissioning of the LPA VHEE dosimetry system. DRAM will improve the reach of ELI-NP in the biomedical community for future applications with high societal relevance, and at the same time it will favor the formation of interdisciplinary teams able to tackle complex problems in an extremely active research and development field. [1] Ruan, J.-L. et al. Irradiation at ultra-high (FLASH) dose rates reduces acute normal tissue toxicity in the mouse gastrointestinal system. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 111, 1250-1261 (2021). [2] M. Bazalova-Carter et al, Treatment planning for radiotherapy with very high-energy electron beams and comparison of VHEE and VMAT plans, Medical Physics 42, 2615 (2015) [3] E. Schuler, et al, Very high-energy electron (VHEE) beams in radiation therapy; Treatment plan comparison between VHEE, VMAT and PPBS, Medical Physics 44 (6), 2546 (2017) [4] A. Subiel et al., Dosimetry of very high energy electrons (VHEE) for radiotherapy applications: using radiochromic film measurements and Monte Carlo simulations, Phys. Med. Biol. 59 5811 (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0031-9155/59/19/5811 Objectives: - Development and implementation of the experimental set-up for real-time LPA VHEE dosimetry measurements; - Electron pulse duration measurement; - Study of radiation effects on biological samples under LPA VHEE high-dose rate conditions; - Dissemination of results; - Education and training of young researchers THE STAGES OF THE PROJECT AND DELIVERY DATES 1. WP1 Water Phantom design, construction and implementation (2025-06-30) 2. WP2 Laser-plasma accelerated VHEE bunch duration measurement (2025-05-31) 3. WP3 Experimental commissioning for VHEE irradiation of biological cells (2025-12-31) RESULTS PUBLISHED ARTICLES RESEARCH TEAM Back to the Project List Versiunea proiectului in limba romana      Address: Str. Reactorului no.30, P.O.BOX MG-6, Bucharest - Magurele, ROMANIA Tel: +(4021) 404.23.00, Fax: +(4021) 457.44.40 2026 IFIN-HH. All rights reserved.