The National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS)was re-organized as an independent administrative insti-tution in April 2001. Since then, NIRS scientists have beenperforming research studies according to the mid-termplans. Every 5 years, the mid-term plan has been revised:the first mid-term plan was started in April 2001; the sec-ond, in April 2006; and the third, in April 2011. Researchactivities at NIRS are done in five fields: heavy chargedparticle therapy, molecular imaging, radiation protection,radiation emergency medicine, and radiation technology.These mid-term plans have been carried out by four re-search centers and one fundamental technology center.In this report, the research activities at NIRS during thefirst and second years (FY 2011 and 2012: April 2011 toMarch 2013) of the third mid-term plan are presented.

The Great East Japan Earthquake measuring 9.0 on theRichter scale struck the northeast coast of Honshu, themain island of Japan, at 14:46 on March 11, 2011, trigger-ing tsunami with over 10 meter-high waves. The earth-quake was followed by numerous aftershocks. Althoughthe operating reactors automatically shut down after theinitial earthquake, damage primarily from the tsunami re-sulted in loss of electrical supplies for reactor coolingfunctions, which led to hydrogen explosions in some reac-tor units of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) that re-sulted in large amounts of radioactive materials, mainly I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137, being released into the environ-ment.

In April 2011, 3 weeks after the start of this huge disas-ter, NIRS began the third mid-term plan. Since NIRS is

designated as the national core center for radiation emer-gency medicine, we first had to respond to the disasterby: sending experts, receiving contaminated emergencyworkers, providing information on radiation and its effectsto the public, and performing dose estimation. The peopleof Japan are still struggling with the effects of the multipledisasters, even though almost 2 years have passed andmany NIRS researchers continue to be involved in re-sponse activities to the Fukushima accident.

The numbers of original papers published reached 214and 251 in FY2011 and 2012, respectively and many ofthem were published in international journals of high repu-tation. Furthermore, more than 100 proceedings were pre-sented at international and domestic scientific meetings,806 oral presentations, and 95 patent applications. Col-laborative studies and exchanges of researchers werealso actively carried out: 268 collaborative studies weredone, 812 researchers worked as visiting staff, and 277students were accepted as trainees. In short, substantial,high level achievements have been realized by NIRS per-sonnel and recognized by their peers, both domesticallyand internationally.

The Research Center for Charged Particle Therapy, asa leading research organization in this field, has con-ducted clinical, biological and physics research studiesusing heavy ions generated from the heavy ion medicalaccelerator in Chiba (HIMAC). In FY 2011, more than 650patients were treated despite the confusion and extrawork caused by the East Japan Great Earthquake. Theclinical trial for lung cancer (single fraction) was com-pleted in March 2012 and moved to the stage of clinical

Outline of Research Activities Makoto Akashi, M.D., Ph. D.Executive Director for Research

10 National Institute of Radiological Sciences Annual Report 2011-2012

practice in April 2012. In FY 2012, the clinical trial teamstarted work with patients receiving carbon therapy with anewly installed scanning beam delivery system. The high-lights of research progress in FY2011 and FY2012 areshown in other parts of this chapter.

The Molecular Imaging Research Center, consisting offour groups, has long experience with medical imagingtechnologies including positron emission tomography(PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The Centerconducts basic science and technology for molecular im-aging and also application studies for diagnosis andpathophysiology of oncology and psychiatry. Current pro-jects include the development of molecular probes andradiopharmaceutical production techniques and the in-vestigation of measurement techniques for PET and MRI,in addition to preclinical and clinical applications in oncol-ogy and psychiatric and neurological diseases.

The Research Center for Radiation Protection has beenproviding a scientific basis for establishing regulationswith global standards for radiation protection, security andsafety, focusing on effects of low-dose radiation derivedfrom human activities and from natural environmental ra-diation. For this purpose, the results of basic radiobiologi-cal research have been provided to promote understand-ing of radiation effects and to encourage enactment ofmore reasonable regulations for the safe and secure useof radiation in our lives. The Center has renewed its desig-nation by the IAEA as a “Collaborating Centre for Biologi-cal Effects of Low Dose Radiation”.

NIRS has been designated as the national center for ra-diation emergency medicine in Japan, providing direct orconsultative services to local governments and hospitalsin the event of an actual radiation incident. The ResearchCenter for Radiation Emergency Medicine is responsiblefor services including providing exposed victims (pa-tients) with the most advanced radiation emergency medi-cine treatments possible. Therefore, the Center hasplayed important roles in medical response to theFukushima accident. The Center also carries out activitiesto maintain and strengthen the emergency preparednesssystem fulfilling its role by establishing three nation-widenetwork councils for medicine, bio-dosimetry with chro-mosome analysis, and physical dosimetry. Furthermore,the Center conducted basic research studies on treat-ment of radiation exposure and dose estimation. The Cen-ter has also introduced several courses at NIRS on radia-tion emergency medical preparedness for medical pro-fessionals of the Asian region.

Research on radiation protection and radiation emer-gency medicine, an important mission of the institutesince its establishment, has been carried out primarily in

two centers. These centers played a role as a national hubin collaboration with international organizations includingthe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Interna-tional Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP),United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects ofAtomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), and World Health Organi-zation (WHO).

The Fundamental Technology Center, which was estab-lished to support various studies performed in NIRS withadvanced fundamental technology, has been carrying outmaintenance and quality control of institute acceleratorsincluding the single particle irradiation system to cell(SPICE), the PIXE (particle induced X-ray emission) analy-sis and tandem accelerator (PASTA), and the neutron ex-posure accelerator system for biological effects experi-ments (NASBEE), as well as radiation measurement appa-ratuses for cosmic rays. Efforts have also been extendedto establish and support experimental animal laboratoriesfor internal and external researchers.

In May 2012, the program for recovery of Fukushimawas started. This program includes four research projectsand a cooperation system. Research projects are thestudy for long-term and environmental effects of radiation,the health effect survey for emergency workers at the nu-clear power plant, and the study of environmental dynam-ics of radionuclides and radiation in the ecosystems in theFukushima region. The cooperation system is for collabo-ration with the Fukushima Medical University (FMU).

The second-term of the International Open Laboratory(IOL) also began in April 2011, for which four units wereapproved, including the “Particle Therapy Molecular Tar-get Unit”, the “Particle Beam Quality Unit”, the “Space Ra-diation Research Unit”, and “Radiation Response ModelUnit”. The purpose of the IOL is to conduct top level re-search by collaborating with distinguished scientists fromleading research institutes world-wide and to promote fur-ther internationalization at NIRS by active research col-laborations with foreign scientists. For the two years of FY2011 and 2012, the IOL was involved in publication of 12original articles and held three workshops/seminars.

Some other research programs have also been contin-ued or newly started with the support of funding agenciesincluding the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Sci-ence and Technology (MEXT), the Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of the Environ-ment, and the Nuclear Regulation Agency.

In this report readers will be able to learn about sub-stantial research that was performed in the 1st and 2nd

years of the third mid-term plan. I would like to concludewith heartfelt thanks for cooperation and advice providedto us by all parties concerned.

OutlineofResearch

Activities

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