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Irradiator Shared Resource

July 24, 2026

Irradiator Shared Resource (ISR) provides easy and reliable access to cutting-edge gamma- and x-ray irradiation technologies, services, and scientific consultations basic and translational studies of cancer.

Contact

Zhe (Jay) Chen, PhD, FAAPM, Director

(203) 200-2014

zhe.chen@yale.edu

ID
14351

Transcript

  • 00:00My name is Kamlakram Baripuri.
  • 00:02I manage the Irvator shared
  • 00:04resource, resource center here. We're
  • 00:06part of the cancer center
  • 00:07support,
  • 00:08grant share resources.
  • 00:12ISR is supervised by doctor
  • 00:14Stern,
  • 00:15and reviewed annually by the
  • 00:16YCC shared, oversight committee.
  • 00:21The shared resource is managed
  • 00:22by doc director doctor Jay
  • 00:24Chen.
  • 00:26He is the
  • 00:27director of ISR. He's a
  • 00:28professor of therapeutic radiology, member
  • 00:30of the Yale Cancer Center,
  • 00:32and vice chair for the
  • 00:33physics research and education in
  • 00:35therapeutic radiology.
  • 00:36He has about three years
  • 00:37of experience in radiation physics,
  • 00:39and then he's an in
  • 00:41house expert on gamma and
  • 00:43X rays.
  • 00:45He's also a fellow of
  • 00:46the American Association of Physicists,
  • 00:49in medicine and the chief
  • 00:50physicist of Smile Local Hospital
  • 00:52at Yale New Haven Hospital.
  • 00:55So our
  • 00:57mission of the shared resource
  • 00:58irradiated shared resource is to
  • 00:59provide easy and reliable access
  • 01:01to cutting edge gamma and
  • 01:02x-ray irradiation technologies,
  • 01:04services, and scientific consultations
  • 01:06for all the cancer researchers
  • 01:08at Yale.
  • 01:10So we have four objectives
  • 01:12and aims. Aim one being
  • 01:13providing convenient and reliable access
  • 01:16to state of the art
  • 01:17gamma ray and
  • 01:18global digit, x-ray radiators with
  • 01:20cost effective relation for all
  • 01:22YCC members.
  • 01:24We provide reliable access to
  • 01:25all the radiators. We offer
  • 01:26expert help with experimental design.
  • 01:29We train all our users
  • 01:30to operate the machines safely
  • 01:32and keeping in line with
  • 01:33EHS protocols,
  • 01:34and we keep make sure
  • 01:35we keep the machines running
  • 01:36twenty four by seven.
  • 01:41The key services of ISR,
  • 01:42we provide radiation physics and
  • 01:44technical consultation on the best
  • 01:46use of all the radiators.
  • 01:47We provide
  • 01:48periodic quality assurance test to
  • 01:50ensure accurate dose deliveries delivered
  • 01:52by all the radiators.
  • 01:53We train our users and
  • 01:54help with compliance.
  • 01:56We also escort users if
  • 01:58they use a common radiator,
  • 02:00then if they don't wanna
  • 02:01go any background checks, which
  • 02:02I'll talk about later.
  • 02:04We also make sure we
  • 02:05maintain our latest all year
  • 02:06on.
  • 02:07We do QH every month,
  • 02:09every week, quarterly, and annually.
  • 02:14So, we have, different equipment.
  • 02:17We have a CCM gamma
  • 02:19ray radiator.
  • 02:20We have four precision x
  • 02:22vat three twenty kilowatts irradiators
  • 02:23across campus.
  • 02:25We have our newest addition,
  • 02:26the SARP, the small animal
  • 02:28radiation research platform, MIDSGARRE accelerator,
  • 02:31and we also have relation
  • 02:32to equipment.
  • 02:34Briefly,
  • 02:35CGM one hundred and thirty
  • 02:36seven gamma radiator provides,
  • 02:38high penetration gamma rays,
  • 02:40for whole body or cell
  • 02:41variations.
  • 02:42The Precision x-ray three twenty's,
  • 02:44they deliver tunable kV x
  • 02:46rays for cell tissue and
  • 02:47small animal radiation with controlled
  • 02:49dose rates. The SARP,
  • 02:51enables a CT guided highly
  • 02:53targeted radiation for precise small
  • 02:55animal research.
  • 02:56We also have radiation dosimeter
  • 02:58equipment, which support both cell
  • 03:00and animal studies.
  • 03:02So, this is,
  • 03:04this is how a gamma
  • 03:05ray data looks like.
  • 03:07It delivers up to six
  • 03:09six and then six hundred
  • 03:10sixty two kV gamma rays.
  • 03:11It supports molecular samples, cell
  • 03:13cancers, tumor cells, and small
  • 03:14animals.
  • 03:16It use it's also used
  • 03:17for wide dose rate range
  • 03:19and flexible collimation, and it
  • 03:20has been a core tool
  • 03:21for many years since nineteen
  • 03:23ninety for all many YCC
  • 03:24studies.
  • 03:26We will be, removing this
  • 03:27machine in the next year
  • 03:28as part of a two
  • 03:29program
  • 03:30to play and replacing this
  • 03:31with a new X-ray retail.
  • 03:35So we have a four
  • 03:37X-ray machines across campus.
  • 03:40These are X-ray three twenties,
  • 03:41made by Precision.
  • 03:43They're used for rating cell
  • 03:44cultures, beta layers, bacteria, insects,
  • 03:46and small and small animals
  • 03:47like rodents, mice, and rats.
  • 03:49It's supposed both targeted and
  • 03:51whole body radiation,
  • 03:52used for studies in tumor
  • 03:54and normal tissue response, hematopoietic
  • 03:56depletion, immunotherapy relation with energy
  • 03:59research.
  • 03:59The output contain, it goes
  • 04:01up to three grades per
  • 04:02minute at fifty centimeters SSD,
  • 04:04distributed across four medical campus
  • 04:06buildings for community access.
  • 04:08So we have four x-ray
  • 04:09machines, one located in TAC,
  • 04:11one located in Amistad, one
  • 04:12located in George, and another
  • 04:14one located in LCI building.
  • 04:16And this is a gamma
  • 04:16radiator.
  • 04:19So our newest edition is
  • 04:20called the SARP, small animal
  • 04:22radiation research platform.
  • 04:23It's an advanced multifunctional accelerator
  • 04:26designed specifically for animal research.
  • 04:28So what it is is
  • 04:29a two twenty five kilowatt
  • 04:30accelerator designed specifically for high
  • 04:32precision irradiation of mice and
  • 04:34rats.
  • 04:35The key features of this
  • 04:36machine would be cone beam
  • 04:37CT imaging,
  • 04:38a three d treatment planning
  • 04:40just like a miniature clinical
  • 04:41relation therapy planning system. It
  • 04:43has a mobile gantry with
  • 04:44a robotic stage so beams
  • 04:46can come from many angles
  • 04:47for precise targeting.
  • 04:49It also has high sorry
  • 04:51it has a high reproducibility.
  • 04:55So why it matters, it
  • 04:56it allows focal degradation of
  • 04:58instead of whole body exposure
  • 04:59so you could target precisely
  • 05:01or what organ you wanna
  • 05:02treat with.
  • 05:03It ex reduces normal tissue
  • 05:05injury by sparing healthy areas.
  • 05:07It's essential for studying tumor
  • 05:08response, immunology,
  • 05:10DNA repair, and normal tissue
  • 05:11toxicity.
  • 05:12So in a simple summary,
  • 05:13it's a clinical reason that
  • 05:14we device, but scaled down
  • 05:16for mice.
  • 05:18So this is how it
  • 05:19looks like.
  • 05:23So the mouse goes on
  • 05:24the bed over here. There's
  • 05:26a CT detector.
  • 05:27The camera takes a three
  • 05:28d image.
  • 05:30Your X-ray head is on
  • 05:31the top.
  • 05:32We have a collimator.
  • 05:34You can choose your own.
  • 05:35We have we have five
  • 05:36different collimators of various tumor
  • 05:37sizes. You can choose your
  • 05:39collimator and,
  • 05:41treat them, through the mouse
  • 05:42or the rat with whatever
  • 05:43tumor it has. So this
  • 05:45is a treatment time software.
  • 05:46Here, like, I show you
  • 05:47a lung tumor,
  • 05:49in the lung of a
  • 05:50mouse so you can target
  • 05:52just a tumor in the
  • 05:53mouse.
  • 05:56So we also have variation
  • 05:57dosimetry equipment. We have INGMA
  • 05:59based absolute dosimetry.
  • 06:01It measures absolute dose and
  • 06:03it converts collected charge into
  • 06:05and converts that into a
  • 06:06citric rate. It's used to
  • 06:07calibrate our machines and we
  • 06:09use it for daily and
  • 06:10monthly
  • 06:11QAs.
  • 06:12It's sensitive to set up
  • 06:13an environmental corrections.
  • 06:15We also have a EBT4
  • 06:16filament dosimetry. It provides two
  • 06:18d dose distribution. It's great
  • 06:20for checking uniformity, beam profiles,
  • 06:22and small fields.
  • 06:23It requires scanning and calibration
  • 06:25curve. It goes for relative
  • 06:27dose but not for the
  • 06:27absolute dose.
  • 06:29We also have a t
  • 06:30l d dosimeter system.
  • 06:32It's useful where films or
  • 06:35ion chambers or gaphomic films,
  • 06:37e b d four films
  • 06:37can go and it's
  • 06:40measures a point dose. It's
  • 06:41good for verification of delivered
  • 06:42dose. We also have a
  • 06:44flaky chemical dosimeter.
  • 06:46It measures radiation dose, but
  • 06:47how much they how much
  • 06:48it oxidizes ferrous ions in
  • 06:50a specific sulfuric acid solution.
  • 06:53So some of our experimental
  • 06:55setups on gamma and actuators,
  • 06:57we have a whole mouse
  • 06:58pie, for mouse whole body
  • 06:59radiation.
  • 07:00We have shields available built
  • 07:02for a brain radiation or
  • 07:03a flying tumor radiation.
  • 07:05You can always do tissue
  • 07:07culture plates and culture flask
  • 07:08for cell radiation.
  • 07:11We also have two years
  • 07:12filters for harder beams and
  • 07:14aluminum two millimeter millimeter filter
  • 07:15for a softer beam,
  • 07:17so we can, always use
  • 07:18those filters too.
  • 07:22So, training and access
  • 07:25is basically very simple. You
  • 07:26have to do three three
  • 07:27step three steps, get an
  • 07:28online training with EHS, obtain
  • 07:30a relation to submit it,
  • 07:31fill out a form, and
  • 07:31submit to EHS and a
  • 07:32hands on training with me,
  • 07:34and you would be approved
  • 07:35to use,
  • 07:36any of the exhibitions across
  • 07:37campus.
  • 07:40So same thing. Complete required
  • 07:42acts required training and a
  • 07:44plain relation to submit it.
  • 07:45For a common radiator, you
  • 07:46need to submit a background
  • 07:47clearance form with with COVID
  • 07:49with EHS. It takes about
  • 07:51a while, but you don't
  • 07:52have to wait for the
  • 07:53background clearance. I can export
  • 07:54escort you to the common
  • 07:55radiator and perform your experiments
  • 07:57for you.
  • 08:00So all the scheduling and
  • 08:01training is done via PPMS.
  • 08:03I'll provide the link up
  • 08:04here.
  • 08:05Please access this link, and
  • 08:06everything's up all all the
  • 08:08information we need for training
  • 08:09and scheduling is up on
  • 08:10the PPMS website.
  • 08:13So quickly,
  • 08:14some of our research,
  • 08:16here, we have a lung
  • 08:17cancer presentation with doctor Hayman
  • 08:19and doctor Contessa. So we
  • 08:20use he they use the
  • 08:21X-ray three twenty to deliver
  • 08:22fractional doses for cell and
  • 08:24mode studies.
  • 08:25We had doctor Ryan Jensen
  • 08:26for DNA repair. He used
  • 08:28DNA x three twenty to
  • 08:29induce DNA breaks to measure
  • 08:31the RAD fifty one foci.
  • 08:33We also have a humanized
  • 08:34skeletal m model with doctor
  • 08:35Flavell's lab.
  • 08:36They use their sublethal expert
  • 08:38conditioning
  • 08:39for enable HSC engraftment in
  • 08:41mice. And we also have
  • 08:42doctor Pillai, from George billing.
  • 08:44They use the x-ray three
  • 08:45twenty to induce DNA damage
  • 08:47to test synthetic lethal responses.
  • 08:50So,
  • 08:51for the sub basically of
  • 08:52twenty twenty five, we had
  • 08:54about fifty two PIs and
  • 08:55twenty one departments that use
  • 08:56our machines.
  • 08:57Ninety eight percent of our
  • 08:58members are YCC members. So,
  • 09:01we we had a user
  • 09:02of a thousand twelve two
  • 09:03hundred for the fiscal year
  • 09:04twenty twenty five.
  • 09:07Quickly about the service rates,
  • 09:08we charge about hundred and
  • 09:09thirty dollars for thirty minutes.
  • 09:11With assisted, that mean I
  • 09:12would be doing operation for
  • 09:13you. If you get trained
  • 09:14and use it by yourself,
  • 09:15it's sixty five dollars for
  • 09:16thirty minutes. You don't need
  • 09:17a you need just need
  • 09:18training, and you have an
  • 09:19underscore to access, meaning you
  • 09:20can access the machine anytime
  • 09:22area of the week.
  • 09:25So this is our contact
  • 09:26information here, doctor Jay Chen,
  • 09:27and that's me, Kamalakram Maripuri.
  • 09:29And our our website and
  • 09:30people's website is included in
  • 09:31the presentation over here, which
  • 09:33I'll share with you in
  • 09:33a few minutes. Thank you,
  • 09:34everybody. Any questions?