Summary of Outcomes. The results of the PGP shall be outlined by participants in the summary of 38 outcomes portion of their PGP Goals Statement. A copy of such shall be shared with the employee’s 39 principal, when completed.
Summary of Outcomes. The establishment of the first primary standard activity measurements for 166Ho, coupled with significant improvements to the nuclear data and half-life will enable traceability and improved precision for measurements of 166Ho made by clinical centres and radiopharmaceutical companies. Similarly, for 90Y new precise measurements of the e+/e- branching ratio will improve confidence in clinical quantitative PET measurements for this isotope – which are particularly challenging. The data for both radionuclides has been submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals ensuring that these important new results are made available to all stakeholders. The use of transfer instruments for in a clinical setting has been demonstrated at several different clinical sites. This work has led to reduced uncertainties for the calibration of ionisation xxxxxxxx and imaging at all centres, highlighting the benefits of reducing the traceability chain for beta-emitting radionuclide. The exciting prospect of a new design of transfer instrument which can be operated without specialised radionuclide metrology training has also been developed in this project. The promising results on this prototype device provide an excellent platform for its continued development.
Summary of Outcomes. A method for the determination of optimal scan times for an example MRT was achieved, based on an activity standard uncertainty for a reference TAC. This optimisation was based on minimisation of uncertainties. The expected improvements were limited to patient data that closely matched the reference TAC. Further approaches based on pre-therapeutic tracers may prove more personalised. The problems encountered with the exercise on comparison of choice of measurement techniques highlighted two serious problems within the clinical practice of dosimetry. Firstly, there is no common standard for defining and transfer of VOI information (as there is in external beam therapy). Although, the external beam format is not accepted by commercial nuclear medicine systems without a great deal of work if at all. Secondly, it highlighted the paucity of software available to clinical groups that was able to perform advanced uncertainty analysis on the fits it produced. Both these problems indicate a clear need for software solutions to be developed so that clinical groups can take advantage and use this information. The use of the primary standard of absorbed dose (developed in the preceding project HLT11) was extended to other isotopes with improved uncertainties. Good results with reduced uncertainties were achieved for 90Y and 177Lu, albeit with reduced success for 131I. The technique depends on the accuracy of the MC simulation used and relies on validation. The work on the development of MR dose sensitive gels also showed promise. However widespread use will require problems with temperature control and oxygen sensitivity to be addressed. As this currently limits their use to specialist laboratories.
Summary of Outcomes. The first key achievement for this objective is the acceptance of the procedure to produce an uncertainty budget for MRT dosimetry by EANM. This is a key document to be embedded in future dosimetry systems and lays the foundations for a method of uncertainty comparison and improvement (See Section 6 Publications). A further significant achievement is the implementation of a “ground truth” exercise to establish uncertainties and accuracy for a given clinical dosimetry system. This is the first comparison using “known dose” between centres and with commercial partners. These results highlight key areas to be addressed to play a significant role in improving MRT dosimetry. Following these achievements, is the preparation of an SOP for commissioning of a dosimetry platform, from camera calibration to the final dose estimate, where uncertainty budget is considered at every step. The SOP is designed to allow users to determine the accuracy and uncertainties within their dosimetry technique and compare the output of the clinical system with the ground truth. The SOP will be submitted to bodies at IEAE, EANM and EFOMP. It is intended that this will engage users in employing full uncertainty analysis in commissioning a dose platform and embed the reporting of uncertainties as recommended in EANM guidelines. Finally, it must be remarked that this work was also limited by the problems found in other objectives- namely the extreme difficulty in providing DICOM formats to suit all commercial and academic dosimetry systems. However, the most concerning outcome is that although it has been demonstrated that an uncertainty budget can be generated, no commercial dosimetry systems have the capability to do so, along with many academic systems. This should be addressed as a matter of urgency. and if the IAEA accepts the project’s SOP for commissioning of a dosimetry system then this should also be raised with the FDA and other licencing agencies.
Summary of Outcomes. The results of the PGP shall be outlined by participants in a summary of outcomes document. A copy of such, in sufficient detail to enable reasonable assessment for possible broader use with other employees, shall be shared with the principal when completed and no later than the last day of school.
Summary of Outcomes. Following feedback on the first submission from Government Office and following the further development of the Northamptonshire’s LAA Model, a prioritisation exercise has been undertaken. This exercise was undertaken by testing each of the outcomes within the four blocks against the LAA model and evidence base and assessed to how they will meet the LAA Model’s two key criteria:
Summary of Outcomes. The results of the PGP shall be outlined by participants in the summary of 3 principal, when completed.
