PEERing into the Future: Benchmarking the ANSTO Australian Synchrotron's Very-High-Energy Electron Linac for...

Area of Science:

• Medical physics and radiation oncology
• Accelerator science and technology
• Radiobiology

Background:

• The Australian Synchrotron's PEER beamline was developed for Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) FLASH radiotherapy research.
• It features a 100 MeV electron linac capable of ultra-high dose rates (up to 109 Gy/s).
• Biological benchmarking was essential to confirm the beamline's suitability for VHEE FLASH studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To biologically benchmark the PEER beamline for VHEE FLASH radiotherapy.
• To assess the feasibility of small animal experiments using the PEER beamline.
• To compare VHEE FLASH cell survival data with other facilities.

Main Methods:

• Irradiation of three cell lines using real-time dosimetry to generate linear quadratic cell survival curves.
• Irradiation of mouse cadavers to simulate live animal experiments and assess logistics.
• Comparison of results with data from other VHEE facilities and conventional dose-rate irradiations.

Main Results:

• PEER beamline cell survival data aligned with VHEE results from DESY's ARES beamline.
• VHEE FLASH demonstrated enhanced cell sparing compared to conventional 2 Gy/s X-rays.
• Mouse cadaver irradiations confirmed safe and efficient small animal handling and irradiation procedures.

Conclusions:

• The PEER beamline is validated for VHEE UHDR FLASH radiotherapy research.
• Key capabilities include real-time dosimetry, repeatable alignment, and linac diagnostics.
• The beamline is suitable for future in vivo VHEE UHDR FLASH radiotherapy investigations.