P.7.5 DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A PROTON IRRADIATION EXPERIMENTAL SETUP FOR USE IN HUMAN CELLS

S70 Abstracts / Physica Medica 127S1 (2024) S1–S82 P.7.4 EFFECT OF RADIOTHERAPY ON BLOOD: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW P. Lazou1, D. Gkika2, N. Vordos1 1Department of Physics, Democritus University of Thrace, Kavala, Greece, 2Department of Chemistry, Democritus University of Thrace, Kavala, Greece Background: Radiotherapy, vital in treating cancers, uses ionizing radiation to target tumors but can harm normal tissues, especially the blood-forming hematopoietic system. This leads to decreased red and white blood cells and platelets, causing anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia. These changes result from DNA damage, cell death, and cytokine alterations in the bone marrow. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. The PubMed and Scopus databases were searched. Keywords included combinations of “radiotherapy” with terms related to blood, such as “radiotherapy AND neutropenia” or “lymphopenia AND radiotherapy AND cancer.” Additionally, the VOSviewer software was used to visualize and analyze the bibliometric data from the selected articles. Results: The study found that radiotherapy significantly reduced red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in patients. Higher radiation doses and larger treatment volumes led to greater hematological toxicity. The lowest blood cell counts typically occurred between the second and fourth weeks of treatment. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that radiotherapy significantly reduces red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, increasing risks of anemia, infection, and bleeding. The severity of these effects depends on radiation dose and treatment volume, highlighting the need for personalized treatment plans. Elevated inflammatory markers indicate inflammation’s role in hematopoietic dysfunction. Supportive care measures, like growth factors and transfusions, effectively mitigate these side effects, allowing treatment completion. Advancements in radiotherapy and proactive hematological management are essential for improving patient outcomes. Physica Medica 127S1 (2024) 104706 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmp.2024.104706 P.7.5 DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A PROTON IRRADIATION EXPERIMENTAL SETUP FOR USE IN HUMAN CELLS S. Zonitsas1, A. Gkikoudi1,2, S. N. Vasilopoulos1,3, A. Georgakopoulou1, S. Chasapoglou1, M. Diakaki1, M. Kokkoris1, A. G. Georgakilas1 1Physics Department, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Athens, Greece, 2Laboratory of Health Physics, Radiobiology & Cytogenetics, Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences & Technology, Energy & Safety, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Athens, Greece, 3Department of Science and Mathematics, Deree-The American College of Greece, Athens, Greece Background: The objective of this study is the design, development and evaluation of a proton irradiation experimental setup for human cells and for research purposes. The impetus of this research originated from the high importance of proton therapy that has significantly advanced in recent years, worldwide, since protons, due to their physical characteristics, have proven to be very efficient in radiation therapy. Materials and Methods: The proton irradiation setup will be installed and used at the Tandem accelerator, of the Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics, NCSR “Demokritos”. The proton beam has a mean or high energy value of 5.5 MeV and an appropriate holder was constructed to precisely place the cell culture disks. A gold leaf placed above the petri dish deflects the beam into the cells through Rutherford scattering, ensuring uniform radiation distribution. This setup is crucial, as without it, the beam would run parallel to the petri dish rather than being oriented vertically as intended. Following the construction of the holder, the next step prior to the experiment was to perform simulations using MCNP6 (Monte Carlo N-Particle), SRIM-TRIM, and SIMNRA. These simulations provide theoretical values for the accelerator’s energy beam spot diameter (as determined by SIMNRA and SRIM-TRIM), and via MCNP6, the construction of the 3D geometry of the setup. The output of these simulations includes the energy values or doses received by the defined cells, which in this case, the cells into the petri dish. Results: MCNP6 results predict uniform proton energy and dose deposition, and also effective cell targeting. Experiments have been designed to be executed using human cells. Conclusion: In conclusion, the successful proton irradiation setup we propose will allow teams to conduct more experiments regarding the radiobiological effects of protons on human cells, drawing conclusions in the context of proton therapy too. Physica Medica 127S1 (2024) 104707 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmp.2024.104707 Biomedical engineering (BME) P.8.1 LUMINESCENCE EFFICIENCY OF A GADOLINIUM ALUMINIUM GALLIUM GARNET (GAGG:CE) SINGLE CRYSTAL SCINTILLATOR: TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE M. Dima1, I. Valais1, N. Kalyvas1, G. Fountos1, A. Bakas2, K. Ninos2, I. Kandarakis1, C. Michail1 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Radiation Physics, Materials Technology and Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece, 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece Background: Applications of scintillators in harsh environments (i.e. high temperatures or radiation fluxes), such as radiation chemistry, nuclear reactor monitoring, non-destructive testing (NDT), in geophysical detectors for deep geology boreholes, of pipelines in oil and gas industry, space and marine exploration, etc. show increasing interest. In this framework, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of temperature on the luminescence efficiency of a Gadolinium Aluminium Gallium Garnet (Gd3Al2Ga3O12-GAGG:Ce) single crystal scintillator. The crystal output was compared with various crystal scintillators of equal dimensions, in similar experimental conditions. Materials and Methods: For the experiments, a CPI series CMP 200 DR medical X-ray source wasset to fixed high voltage (90kVp), to expose the sample with X-ray radiation, under different temperature conditions (23-150oC). 20 mm Al was added in addition to the inner filter of the Xray tube, to simulate attenuation from a human chest. The GAGG:Ce crystal under investigation has fast decay (<50ns) and light yield (40000 photons/MeV). The crystal sample was heated using a Perel 3700-9 2000W heating gun. The temperature on the crystal surface was monitored using an Agilent Technologies U1253A digital multimeter, coupled to a U1185A thermocouple (J-Type) with temperature probe adapter.