Irradiator Shared Resource
July 24, 2026Irradiator 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
About the speakers
Information
- ID
- 14351
- To Cite
- DCA Citation Guide
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?