The FLASH therapy may be a promising method of destroying tumours while better preserving healthy cells. An accelerator built at the NCBJ is already supporting research into this treatment modality at the Wielkopolska Oncology Centre. 

The AQURE FLASH (RT) accelerator is the first device of its kind in Poland and one of the few in the world to generate an electron beam with the possibility of flexible modelling of the radiation dose pulse. Such capabilities of the device are essential for research into the Flash effect. This effect, by definition, means the protection of healthy cells, while retaining the full efficacy of eliminating cancer cells. It can only be studied when a radiation beam of very high dose power is obtained in a very short time. Compared to conventional or intra-operative therapy, the therapeutic dose of radiation is administered in the order of milliseconds, where in the standard method the same dose is administered over several minutes. The aim of the research is to find the conditions for the appearance of the effect and the selection of the most optimal pulse parameters to obtain the best therapeutic effects.

The device was constructed and commissioned at the NCBJ's Department of Nuclear Equipment HITEC with the participation of the NCBJ's Department of NuclearTechniques and Equipment, and installed in early 2024 in the Wielkopolska Oncology Centre, where radiobiologists are studying the Flash effect. The accelerator was built on the basis of the AQURE intraoperative accelerator and, most importantly, allows both the Flash beam and the conventional therapy beam to be generated. This will enable a clear comparison of the effects of the two dose delivery modalities under the same environmental conditions.

The FLASH accelerator consists of a mobile base to ensure that the head can be moved and the device can be used for research in various dedicated laboratories. At the heart of the device is a new dedicated electron beam source with the ability to modify the beam parameters over a wide range, enabling the generation of high and ultra-high dose rates. The entire device can be intuitively controlled by the operator.

The innovative therapeutic solutions that will be discovered with the built device will be able to be put into clinical use in the intraoperative accelerator.

The AQURE FLASH (RT) accelerator was built at the NCBJ as part of the project: Construction and validation of an ultra-high dose power electron beam generating station (FLASH RT) funded under the Wielkopolska Regional Operational Programme 2014-2020 in cooperation with the Wielkopolska Oncology Centre, the Institute of Chemistry and Nuclear Technology and the Centre for High Technologies in Świerk Hitec-Świerk Sp. z o. o.

Project website: https://www.ncbj.gov.pl/en/project/flash