Laboratory of Medical Physics

From the very beginning of the creation of the Moscow Meson Factory of the INR RAS, one of the areas of research in this nuclear center was radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. It was intended to use beams of accelerated protons from a linear accelerator and other particles for radiotherapy of malignant tumors. To conduct such research, the Laboratory of Medical Physics (LMP) of the INR RAS was created in 2005.

In 2009, with the scientific and technical support of LMF, the construction of the first stage of the Radiation Therapy Complex (RTC) of the INR RAS was completed. This complex included the following generating units: a proton beam unit, a medical electron accelerator SL-75-5-MT, a close-focus X-ray therapy device RENTGEN-TA-02 and a Toshiba Aquilion LB-16 X-ray computed tomograph.

The proton beam installation continued to undergo testing, and all conventional installations almost immediately began to be used for treatment and diagnosis. Moreover, scientists from the INR RAS ranked these installations among the best in the Moscow region, which at that time included the city of Troitsk.

For example, at the electron accelerator, methods for improving the quality of radiation therapy were used for the first time for such an accelerator by accurately fixing the irradiated organs of patients using thermoplastic masks and vacuum mattresses. For the first time, an atlas of deep doses was compiled for an X-ray therapy device to prevent unwanted irradiation of healthy organs.

During the work of the KLT with the participation of the RAS Hospital in Troitsk, courses of high-quality treatment and diagnostics were conducted for more than 300 patients. KLT in Troitsk has become known as one of the leaders in the use of advanced methods of radiation therapy and diagnostics.

Simultaneously with practical treatment, scientific research continued at the highest world level in the following areas: brachytherapy methods using new isotopes, laser separation of ytterbium and the production of radiation sources for medicine, increasing the conformity of proton beam therapy, radiobiological experiments with cell cultures. The work of LMF scientists in this area is widely known throughout the world, and in some areas, for example, new sources for brachytherapy, the laboratory is a world leader.

In recent years, research by LMF scientists on proton flash therapy, which uses irradiation of tumors with extremely high dose rates, has attracted particular interest. In this case, it is possible to destroy tumors by radiation without damaging healthy tissue. The proton accelerator of the INR RAS provides unique opportunities for this type of therapy due to the record power of its proton beams. In these areas of medical physics, the LMF INR RAS actively cooperates with leading radiological centers in Russia.

The main directions of scientific activity of the LMF:

• Development of new methods of proton therapy for tumors. These studies are carried out on the basis of the linear proton accelerator of the INR RAS. Its unique parameters (pulse power and duration) make it possible to irradiate tumors in an extremely high dose rate mode (flash mode), which is inaccessible to conventional clinical proton accelerators.
• Development of new methods of radiation therapy, including the combination of several types of radiation. The composition of sources of ionizing and laser radiation available at the INR RAS allows us to study the effectiveness of various combinations of types of radiation in the treatment of malignant neoplasms.