 |
|
 |
|
||
SENUBIO group > Research Group of Excellence PROMETEO
SENUBIO group has been awarded as Research Group of Excellence PROMETEO 2023-2026 (CIPROM/2022/038), PROMETEO 2018-2021 (PROMETEO/2018/035), PROMETEO 2014-2017 (PROMETEOII/2014/008) and 2010-2013 (PROMETEO/2010/039) by the Generalitat Valenciana. The objective of this finance programme is the promotion of high quality research and excellence through the development of outstanding research actions. The awarded groups have certified their high level and competitiveness for the national and international scientific community.
The finance allows the execution of a large scope project during 4 years.
The project objectives are described below:
IRAMED PROJECT (CIPROM/2022/038):
Ionizing Radiation Dose Redution in Medical Applications
IRAMED is a €550.000 Prometeo project funded by Generalitat Valenciana that focuses its studies on optimizing exposure to ionizing radiation in treatments and radiodiagnosis, so that the doses received by patients are reduced as much as possible without affecting the quality and accuracy of treatment or diagnosis.
The great challenge of the IRAMED project is to reduce the doses that patients receive when a clinical diagnosis is made through Computed Tomography or PET-CT applications or when a radiotherapy or protontherapy treatment is performed on the patient.
The specific objectives set out in the IRAMED project are:
1.Reduction of radiation dose in radiodiagnosis, specifically in Computed Tomography
2.Reduction of radiation dose in Nuclear Medicine, particularly in PET-CT technology
3.Minimization of radiation dose in radiotherapy and protontherapy treatments
4.Communication, dissemination and exploitation of the results
To address these challenges, it will be necessary to develop new numerical methods and simulations of particle transport according to the case study, mainly using Monte Carlo codes for the simulation of particle transport.
To reduce the dose in CT and PET-CT, the Monte Carlo numerical simulation codes (PenRed, GEANT, PENELOPE, GATE, GAMOS and MCNP) and the databases provided on the Cancer Imaging Archive website will be used. From sinograms and reconstructed images, filters based on Artificial Intelligence will be developed to reduce artifacts, noise and improve image quality.
Its success will guarantee new systems for diagnosing cancer, mental illnesses and other pathologies in the future, optimizing irradiation doses for patients.
On the other hand, the precision in radiotherapy treatments will be improved, as well as the reduction of unwanted secondary doses to patients and staff generated by photoneutrons induced in high energy radiotherapy treatments (Linear Accelerator -Linac-) and protontherapy will be studied.
BIORADIO PROJECT (PROMETEO/2018/035):
Bioengineering of the Ionizing Radiation
The Research Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical and Environmental Safety (ISIRYM) is a multi-disciplinary University Research Institute of the Universitat Politčcnica Valčncia (UPV) which focuses its activity in guaranteeing the industrial, radiophysical and environmental safety of people and our environment. Specifically, the Nuclear Safety and Bioengineering of Ionizing Radiation group acts in the nuclear safety area, the radiological protection and medical-physics engineering. One of their research is the study of natural radiation sources as Radon. They investigate Radon problematic and they stablish solutions to reduce its impact. Another research is the optimization of doses in Radiodiagnostic and Radiotherapy. Both studies, within the Nuclear Engineering area, have the common objective of reducing the doses received by people.
The project objectives are:
1. Optical tomography.
2. Optimization of doses in Radiodiagnostic.
3. Optimization of doses in Radiotherapy.
4. Doses reduction due to ionizing radiation in NORM materials.
5. Management and dissemination of knowledge and results.
The objectives 1, 2 and 3 will be reached by the development of new numerical methods to solve lineal equation systems of big dimension based on the calculation of the product matrix-vector without charging the matrix in the memory. The graphical targets (GPUS) will be used to parallelization the processes in order to reduce the computational time and to maintain the precision in the results. So, with the Optical Tomography the problem arises when the nodal collocation method is changed in spherical harmonics by a high order finite element method. As a consequence, the number of variables by node increases and the calculation time necessary to solve the thermal radiation equation by an efficient way can be prohibitive. In general, every development will be implemented by the actual architecture of computers with several cores and GPUs. Heterogeneous programming techniques will be used with the aim of obtaining the best performances with the available sources. The codes developed will be adapted to the characteristics of the machines and the size of the problem to solve. Moreover, internal dosimetry models will be necessary developed to reach the objectives 2 and 4. The computational results will be compared with experimental results thanks to the infrastructures obtained by public funding sources. As main results it should be pointed the introduction of Monte Carlo software in the consecution of the objectives 1, 2 and as well as the introduction of the uncertainty analysis in all objectives and the study of the production of neutrons and its impacts in the patient and technical staff in the objective 3. The objective 1 is a challenge in this project, because its success will assure in the future new systems of the breast cancer diagnostic, mental illness and other pathologies. Objective 4 combines experimental, research and development aspects of great social relevance. Finally, the last objective is fundamental to assure the technology transfer into the sector business or companies.
N3D-VALKIN PROJECT (PROMETEOII/2014/008):
New improved capacities in 3D-VALKIN (Valencian neutronic Kinetics)
Nuclear industry lifecycle is not very different from that of other type of industries. Its main features are; a long time horizon, its technical complexity and the need of excellence. The nuclear sector is evolving rapidly, but that would not be possible without a high-quality research.
Previously, the group members working on this project have collaborated in the development of NTHVAL3D code system, which is a neutronic-thermalhydraulic coupled code financed by DISPROTER and DIASEG3D projects of the Ministery of Education (MEC), by the projects 3D-PANTHER and VALIUN-3D of the Ministery of Science and Innovation (MICINN), by the PROMETEO ANITRAN project of the Conselleria d’Educaciň (GVA), and by the multidisciplinary projects ANITRAN, INEUTRON and MOACIN of the UPV. The developments have been successfully transferred to IBERDROLA, CNAT (Almaraz-Trillo) and Leibstadt (Swizertland).
However, the future scenario is more complex after the Fukushima accident, which has given rise to new designs of the plants state-of-art and the life extension of the existing ones, with appreciable design changes. This has led to the design of new and more complex fuel elements, with higher initial enrichment, higher fuel burn at the end, and the possibility to incorporate reprocessed fuel. This means that the neutron methodologies (in which we have participated) need to be adapted, and from this arises the new multidisciplinary line that we propose in this project; the development of a fast neutron kinetics with the aim of improving nuclear safety.
The project objectives are:
1. The optimization of the neutron diffusion equation resolution, P1 and SP3 with 3D geometry by methods that enable the utilization of variable mesh. H-p methods.
2. Updating the alpha and lamba modes of disturbed configurations of a reactor using a Newton-to-block method.
3. Utilization of preconditioners to accelerate the resolution of the neutron diffusion equation, P1 equations, and time dependent SP3 by implicit methods.
4. Application and optimization of programs developed on high-speed graphics cards GPUs.
5. Application to steady-state and transient scenarios.
6. Management and dissemination of knowledge and results.
ANITRAN PROJECT (PROMETEO/2010/039):
Methdology of Uncertainty Analysis aplied to transients in nuclear power plants
The methods used for the analysis of the behaviour of nucelar reactors use physical models that describe the thermalhydraulic processes coupled with the kinetic neutronic and they require a description of the initial state system. The results obtained by these methods and the data of the reactor could be affected by the model and system variable uncertainties, so it is essential quantify this uncertainty.
ANITRAN project has the focus in the uncertainty influence of certain parameters and input system variables that describe the 3D nuclear core model in the main transient results.
The project objectives are:
1. Uncertainty analysis of the neutronic models, associated to cross sections, neutronic nodalization and level of aproximation of the transport equation
2. Sensitivity and Uncertainty analysis of the simulations.
3. Aplication to a transient. Study of an RIA accident.
4. Management and dissemination of knowledge and results.
 
|
 |
