PARTREC
Particle Therapy Research Center
At PARTREC, we operate state-of-the-art particle accelerators and X-ray generators. Our advanced imaging and dosimetry instruments allow for groundbreaking research, driving the development of more precise, effective and cost-effective cancer treatments using particles and X-rays. We support the automotive and aerospace industries, and international space agencies, ensuring their technologies withstand the harshest conditions. In the past three years, PARTREC has started to expand its capabilities towards the production of novel radioisotopes, contributing to the effort of securing Europe's independence in the fast-growing domain of Nuclear Medicine for enhanced patient imaging and treatment.
Infrastructure and User Services
The central facility of PARTREC is AGOR, a worldwide unique superconducting cyclotron, equipped with three ion sources to produce intense beams of protons as well as helium and heavier ions. Protons can be accelerated up to 190 MeV, and ions with a charge-over-mass (Q/A) ratio of 0.5 up to 90 MeV/u (MeV per nucleon). High beam intensities are possible, allowing for isotope production or FLASH radiobiology research. A setup for irradiations in air with heavy-ion beams up to xenon with primary energy of 30 MeV/u is operational. This is unique in Europe, which has a large user base in the radiation hardness testing domain. Specifically, we offer the option to accelerate a heavy ion cocktail of ions with Q/A=0.25 at 30 MeV/u where the user can request pure, homogeneous beams of oxygen, neon, argon, krypton and xenon with less than an hour switching time between each beam. The existing beam lines are flexible, modular and fully instrumented for many different types of experiments.
Use of the beam lines described above is offered to internal and external users in the Open Access Facility format. Our staff helps designing of experimental equipment to be used and in running the experiments smoothly and efficiently. A remote-control option is available. In addition, the external users will be offered the following services: well-equipped and modern mechanical and electronics workshops capable of handling problems that may arise during the set-up or running of the experiments.
Examples/description of the type of research
- Radiobiological: proton, helium and 12C irradiation of cells, organoids, and laboratory animals related to the sparing of healthy tissue, the role of stem cells; the effect of radiotherapy on the brain; how defects in DNA repair impact human health, particularly regarding neurodegenerative diseases; the effect of irradiation on normal tissues such as lung, heart and salivary glands; the possible healthy tissue sparing effect of high dose rate (FLASH) and/or microbeam irradiations.
- Immunoradiotherapy
- Development and improvement of new irradiation techniques as well as accurate dosimetry methods and beam energy modulation for FLASH and microbeam irradiations. Development of image-guided irradiations with photons, protons and other particles allowing precision irradiations in laboratory animals.
- Novel beam monitors and dosimetry equipment, degraders and gantry concepts for ultra-fast irradiations, enabling organ motion mitigation (and hence particle therapy of tumours in the abdomen and thorax), fast arc therapy and FLASH therapy.
- Particle-induced short-lived positron emitters for PET imaging for in vivo particle therapy monitoring.
- Proton radiography
- Development of novel modalities, including new gantries, beam monitors, scanning magnets etc.
- Cyclotron-based production techniques of medical radioisotopes for therapy and/or diagnostics (theragnostics). At PARTREC research is initially focussed on the production of Tb radioisotopes.
- 11B proton capture therapy studies
- Image-guided photopharmacology therapy: X-ray and particle irradiation induced drug release.
- Development of radiation-hard components for the automotive, aerospace and space applications by providing proton and heavy ion beams and developing new and more accurate dosimetry, field shaping devices and beam parameter switching options (e.g. energy, scanning).
How to access the infrastructure ?
Contact us by sending a message to irradiations.partrec@umcg.nl outlining your wishes. We will then discuss the technical feasibility and scheduling with you, and after reaching agreement send you a quotation. For certain types of experiments, funding is available via various projects. Details can be found at:
- https://partrec.com/ (focused on radiation hardness testing)
- https://umcgresearch.org/w/partrec (general)