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Towards a further strengthening of the NIRS-IAEA Partnership
-On the way to creating an extensive IAEA Collaborating Centre-
[Outline]
NIRS has been designated a Collaborating Centre by the International Atomic Energy Authority (hereinafter IAEA) and to prove it, a certificatory plate has been conferred by the IAEA (photo).
While the IAEA is an international organization that can be described as the World's Nuclear Watchman it essentially acts as a regulating or coordinating organization and has no system for practical research and human resource development. Under these conditions the IAEA has sought throughout the world a research institution supporting the activities deemed necessary by the IAEA since 2004 and has decided to designate such an organization a Collaborating Centre.
In December 2009 Mr.Yukiya Amano was appointed Director General of the IAEA, and he proclaimed in his inaugural address "I want to show to the world the Japanese position of realizing the peaceful use of atomic energy." Believing that raising the world level of radiotherapy as part of the peaceful use of nuclear energy is an important role for the IAEA, NIRS proposed to the IAEA the idea of a comprehensive collaborating centre aimed at research and development and at human resource development in three key areas of radiation science, including radiotherapy and related research on bio-impact. (The three research areas are: Biological impact of radiation, molecular imaging, and charged (heavy) particle cancer therapy.) After due examination by the IAEA, this has led to the present designation of NIRS as a Collaborating Centre. Currently, there are 12 IAEA Collaborating Centres in 12 countries, and in Japan NIRS is the sole Centre. NIRS is also the first single research institution nominated a comprehensive IAEA Collaborating Centre in such a wide diversity of research fields in the world.
The period of designation is four years, commencing in January 2010, and NIRS has plans to embark on full-scale activities as a Collaborating Centre, including the training and teaching of personnel engaged in medical practice of the member countries of the IAEA.
NIRS as Japan's sole institution specializing in radiotherapy is desirous of contributing not only to the IAEA but also to the health and well-being of all people in the world by drawing to the fullest extent on its unique high-level facilities and diverse human resources.
[Details]
1. Backgrounds
The Statute of the IAEA states that The Agency shall seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world. It shall ensure, so far as it is able, that assistance provided by it or at its request or under its supervision or control is not used in such a way as to further any military purpose. To this end, IAEA has established policies aimed at contributing to the utilization by its member countries of atomic energy technology through technical collaboration projects, integrated research projects, and regional agreements and it introduced, in 2004, measures for appointing typical research institutions in the respective fields IAEA Collaborating Centres in order to support the activities under the IAEA program for research and development of atomic energy technology and for the rearing of specialists in these fields.
In view of the hitherto successful cooperation and collaboration NIRS and IAEA examined measures for establishing a system of closer cooperation and collaboration and recently come to the decision to start a comprehensive relationship of cooperation and collaboration by adding "Molecular Imaging" and "Charged Particle Therapy" to "Biological Effects of Low Dose Radiation" which has hitherto been the area of collaboration. NIRS is thus the first organization in the world which as a single research institution has been designated a comprehensive IEAE Collaborating Centre in these diverse research fields.
2. Activities as an IAEA Collaborating Centre
For the four-year period from December 2009 through to December 2013 NIRS will be active as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in the three research fields below, and during this time span NIRS is determined to proceed with the accumulation of information in these fields and to engage in opinion exchange with experts of the member countries through the holding of workshops and also will strive further to rear specialists in the member countries through the implementation of training and teaching programs.
The following is an overview of NIRS's specific activities.
- Radiobiology
While extensive knowledge about the impact of high-dose radiation on the human body does exist the effects of low-dose radiation on the human body are not well known. To predict the impact due to such low-dose radiation NIRS is proceeding with research and accumulating information in the process on cell responses such as chromosomal abnormalities, mutation, and cytonecrosis and on adaptive responses in the form of induction of cancer in individual cells. NIRS also considers the impact of low-dose radiation on public health by conducting epidemiological surveys on populations living in areas with high levels of background radiation in the environment.
Children are believed to be vulnerable to carcinogenesis due to radiation exposure. NIRS evaluates the risk of cancer development caused by radiation through animal experiments using rodents and undertakes literature surveys on the risk of outbreaks of diseases other than cancer to build up an extensive store of information.
- Molecular Imaging
PET, being one domain of molecular imaging, is in wide-spread use as a standard form of cancer diagnosis throughout the world. Many member countries, especially the developing nations among them, are therefore contemplating the introduction of PET in order to improve clinical treatment of cancer patients. Moreover, PET and MRI are being used for diagnosis of and research on patient with cerebral and neural diseases. NIRS shares with the experts of the member countries the findings of its molecular imaging research and clinical research, especially in the PET and MRI area in which NIRS commands a high level even on the worldwide scale, and it also supports the wider diffusion of PET and molecular imaging research using PET in the member companies. NIRS is also in the process of strengthening its quality control and assurance system for products such as the radioactive PET drugs in member countries.
- Charged Particle Therapy
Charged particle cancer therapy is a radiation therapy by means of accelerated carbon ions, which are heavier than protons and helium, has been proven to be effective also against radiation-resistant tumors because of the higher relative biological effect (RBE) of the carbon ion beam. At present, the necessity of the use of charged particle cancer therapy is recognized throughout the world. This underscores the need for rearing the various charged particle therapy specialists such as physicians specializing in radiation tumor treatment, medical physicists, and clinical radiologists and also the need for strengthening the technological base in terms of facility design and accelerator control. To this end, NIRS shares with the experts of the member countries the information it has accumulated in the areas of cancer treatment using charged particles and clinical research and it also supports the establishment of charged particle cancer therapy and clinical research in the member companies. NIRS is also in the process of standardizing the charged particle therapy dose protocol and of strengthening its quality control and assurance system for radiotherapy equipment.
The practice has been adopted that NIRS submits a state-of-progress report on the above activities in writing to the IAEA at the end of each year.
As part of its plans to make its IAEA Collaborating Centre activities widely known, NIRS will hold, in cooperation with the IAEA, the First IAEA Collaborating Centre Symposium in Tokyo in 2010 to engage in a broad exchange of opinions with the experts of the member countries on the present state and the future prospect of this research field.
3. Outcomes and Prospect
NIRS has hitherto engaged in various cooperation and collaboration activities, including the dispatching of experts to the IAEA. In view of the present nomination of NIRS as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in a wide range of fields, NIRS, as a comprehensive research institution covering all fields of the radiological sciences, is intent on strengthening its activities as a hub entity in these fields in the Asian region by sending out leading-edge information to the world, by assuming a pioneering and leading role in radiation science, and, most importantly, by rearing superior experts in the Asian region.