Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee (NuPECC) Nuclear Physics for Medicine European Science Foundation (ESF) Nuclear Physics European Collaboration The European Science Foundation (ESF) was Committee (NuPECC) established in 1974 to provide a common platform NuPECC is an Expert Committee of the European for its Member Organisations to advance European Science Foundation. The aim of NuPECC is to research collaboration and explore new directions for strengthen collaboration in nuclear science by research. It is an independent organisation, owned by promoting nuclear physics, and its trans-disciplinary 66 Member Organisations, which are research funding use and application, in collaborative ventures between organisations, research performing organisations European research groups, and particularly those from and academies from 29 countries. ESF promotes countries linked to the European Science Foundation collaboration in research itself, in funding of research (ESF). NuPECC encourages the optimal use of a and in science policy activities at the European level. network of complementary facilities across Europe, Currently ESF is reducing its research programmes provides a forum for discussing the provision of future while developing new activities to serve the science facilities and instrumentation, and advises and makes community, including peer review and evaluation recommendations to the ESF and other bodies on the services. development, organisation, and support of European nuclear research, particularly on new projects. The www.esf.org Committee is supported by its subscribing institutions which are, in general, member organisations of the ESF involved in nuclear science and research or The European Science Foundation hosts six Expert research facilities. Boards and Committees: • The European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) www.nupecc.org • The Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee (NuPECC) • The European Marine Board (EMB) Nuclear Physics for Medicine edited by: • The European Polar Board (EPB) Faiçal Azaiez, Angela Bracco, Jan Dobeš, Ari Jokinen, • The Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies Gabriele-Elisabeth Körner, Adam Maj, Alexander (CRAF) Murphy and Piet Van Duppen • The Materials Science and Engineering Expert Committee (MatSEEC) In the statutory review of the Expert Boards For further information contact: and Committees conducted in 2011, the Review Panel concluded unanimously that all Boards and • Professor Angela Bracco Committees provide multidisciplinary scientific NuPECC Chair services in the European and in some cases global Università degli Studi di Milano framework that are indispensable for Europe’s Dipartimento di Fisica and INFN sez. Milano scientific landscape, and therefore confirmed the need Via Celoria 16 – 20133 Milano – Italy for their continuation. Tel: +39 02 50317252 The largely autonomous Expert Boards and Email: [email protected] Committees are vitally important to provide • Dr Gabriele-Elisabeth Körner in-depth and focused scientific expertise, targeted NuPECC Scientific Secretary scientific and policy advice, and to initiate strategic c/o Physik-Department E12 developments in areas of research, infrastructure, Technische Universität München environment and society in Europe. 85748 Garching – Germany Tel: +49 172 89 15 011 / +49 89 2891 2293 Email: [email protected] http://www.nupecc.org/index.php?display=staff/contacts Cover pictures: Top: Nuclei consist of protons (red) and neutrons (blue), which are each made up of three elementary quarks held together by gluons. Below: (left) Advanced approaches to high intensity laser-driven ion acceleration, see page 123. (Right) Image of an FDG-injected rat heart obtained in a small PET scanner for molecular imaging, see page 69. ISBN: 978-2-36873-008-9 Contents Foreword 3 Introduction 5 Chapter I – Hadrontherapy 9 1. Introduction 11 2. Facilities in operation and planned 14 3. Accelerators 18 4. Beam delivery 24 5. Dosimetry 27 6. Moving targets 30 7. Radiobiology 33 8. Modelling 37 9. Treatment planning 41 10. Boron neutron capture therapy 46 11. Clinical programme update in particle therapy 53 12. Outlook 56 Chapter II – Medical Imaging 59 1. Introduction 61 2. From nuclear to molecular imaging 63 3. New challenges 70 4. Interfaces 84 5. Outlook 92 Chapter III – Radioisotope Production 95 Introduction 97 1. Properties of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine 98 2. Production methods and facilities 111 3. Examples and specific topics 128 Annexes 145 Foreword l l l Nuclear physics is a coin that has two sides: basic research and applications. Without basic 3 research there would be little to be applied; applications resulting from basic research contribute to the wealth and health of society. Modern medicine benefits tremendously from nuclear physics, both for diagnosis and for therapy. Therefore NuPECC initiated this report “Nuclear Physics for Medicine”, with its three main sections: hadrontherapy, medical imaging and radioisotope production – topics that are actively and widely pursued in Europe and abroad. Following the successful model of previous NuPECC reports, conveners were engaged by NuPECC members and Working Groups were set up for the three topics. NuPECC members and in particular NuPECC liaisons have followed and discussed thoroughly the various steps necessary Nuclear Physics Medicine for to prepare this report. The draft reports were published on the NuPECC website and discussed at an open meeting in Paris on 18 November 2013. The input received from the community was incorporated, resulting in the report now at hand. We wish you enjoyable reading! Angela Bracco Gabriele-Elisabeth NuPECC Chair Körner NuPECC Scientific Secretary Introduction l l l The present report is one of the initiatives emerged leading to developments of technologi- 5 launched by NuPECC after the successful publi- cal interest. cation of its latest Long Range Plan “Perspectives In the last Long Range Plan of NuPECC, for Nuclear Physics in Europe” in 2010 (see www. issued in 2010, suggesting directions and a strat- nupecc.org/pub/lrp10/lrp2010_final_hires.pdf). egy in the field, one important recommendation Thus it represents a contribution towards fulfill- concerns applications. In particular it was stated ing the mission of this expert committee of the that further development of the nuclear physics European Science Foundation. skills base has to be pursued in view of current While most nuclear physics phenomena are far and future needs and these include of course the beyond our daily experience there is a great vari- life sciences. One important question in this con- Nuclear Physics Medicine for ety of related techniques and applications such nection is: how can nuclear physics techniques as those in medicine which have considerable improve medical diagnostics and contribute to impact on society. cancer therapy? It is on this specific question The development of nuclear physics since that we have decided to focus and thus to issue the first discovery of the atomic nucleus by this report prepared by a group of distinguished Rutherford in the early 20th century has been expert researchers, who have contributed a great intimately tied to the development of new detec- deal and at a high level, to answer to these key tion techniques, accelerators and to theoretical questions. and simulation frameworks. A large number It is important to stress that laboratories with of these have found, and will increasingly find, focus on research in accelerator-based nuclear applications in daily life, well outside the realm physics and on the related accelerator, detector, of nuclear physics and indeed of physics itself. and isotope-production technology contribute Nuclear physics methods find increased applica- (always indirectly but very often directly) to devel- tions within trans-disciplinary areas as diverse as opments in nuclear medicine. Indeed not only can energy, nuclear waste processing and transmuta- the best suited isotopes used for medical imaging tion, climate change containment, life sciences and treatment be produced and developed with and cancer therapy, environment and space, secu- those accelerators, but the techniques used by rity and monitoring, materials science, cultural nuclear physicists to peer “inside” the nucleus can heritage, arts and archaeology. Comprehensive be used to image and trace these agents inside the surveys on the impact of nuclear physics were body to study human health and diseases. issued by NuPECC in 1994 and in 2003 with two In a multidisciplinary vision, the knowledge reports on ‘Impacts and Applications of Nuclear of nuclear physics provides fundamental support Physics in Europe’ – see www.nupecc.org/ to the requests of many specialist physicians, pub/impact_applications_1994.pdf and www. such as oncologists, radiologists, radiotherapists, nupecc.org/pub/impact_applications_interac- and nuclear medicine specialists, looking to guar- tions_2002.pdf, respectively. Since then nuclear antee early detection of disease and to select the physics has progressed and new ideas have most appropriate therapeutic strategies. Life sciences projects in nuclear physics labo- driven by the use of hadrons (particles subject ratories are literally saving lives every day. This to the strong force) such as protons and atomic is commonly the case in European laboratories, nuclei (ions). This frontier in radiation therapy, which also contribute by providing consider- recognised and pursued worldwide, is illustrated able expertise