National standards to set new benchmark in radiation therapy

MedTech & Diagnostics News: Swinburne University of Technology, CSIRO, and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) have joined forces to develop the next generation of national standards for radiotherapy treatment in Australia.

This initiative aims to significantly enhance health outcomes for approximately one million Australians over the next 30 years by reducing the risks associated with “radiotherapy accidents”. The new standards are designed to minimise both under-dosing and over-dosing of radiotherapy treatments, ultimately safeguarding patient health and improving overall treatment efficacy.

These primary standards will serve as benchmarks for assessing the performance of emerging radiotherapy techniques and for cross-checking the medical devices used in hospitals, thereby directly influencing clinical practices nationwide.

Leading the initiative, Swinburne project lead Associate Professor Jeremy Brown emphasised the importance of this collaborative effort.

“Our cross-disciplinary approach will leverage both experimental and computational methods to deliver a set of standards that ensure the quality of healthcare delivered cancer treatment in Australia,” said Associate Professor Brown.

“Our work is not only a huge milestone in Australia’s research and healthcare, but it will have a real impact on a million Australians and their families who are already battling extremely strenuous circumstances. This is the type of program that illustrates the true strengths of Swinburne: academia and industry working together towards delivering real-world technology to everyday Australians,” he added.

The initiative is backed by the CSIRO Industry PhD Program (iPhD), a collaborative effort between CSIRO, Swinburne University, and ARPANSA.

Dr Duncan Butler from ARPANSA highlighted the significance of the new standards, stating, “This work makes an important contribution to ARPANSA’s efforts to support patient safety. The standards will improve the accuracy of radiation measurements in Australia and support new types of radiotherapy, such as protons and high dose-rate techniques.”

“External beam radiotherapy is one of the most popular approaches in the treatment of cancer in Australia. It is crucial that our team and governing bodies continue to work towards the most optimal radiotherapy treatment possible,” explained Associate Professor Brown.

The collaboration between Swinburne, CSIRO, and ARPANSA teams aims to leverage the success of this research project to establish Australia as a leader in radiotherapy standards and secure government-industry sponsorship to develop advanced dosimetry tools that facilitate the implementation of innovative radiotherapy modalities.

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