Systematic proton Flash experiments with zebrafish embryo

Background and Aims
The Flash effect, i.e. the radiobiological observation of normal tissue sparing but efficient tumor killing by
ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) irradiation, promise great benefits for cancer patient treatment. The translation
process of the Flash effect should be accompanied by systematic studies on the necessary beam parameters
for each clinical applied radiation. Using the zebrafish embryo model, the influence of partial oxygen level
(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2021.02.003), electron pulse structure and dose were studied thoroughly.
To investigate a similar range of proton beam parameters UHDR experiments at different accelerators, but
under comparable conditions, are required.
Methods
To cover a broad range of proton dose rates, experiments have been prepared at the University Proton
Therapy Dresden (UPTD) and at the Draco laser accelerator (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf)
providing quasi-continuous and single-shot proton beam delivery in the range of 0.12 to 10^9 Gy/s. To fulfil
the requirements of the model, i.e., irradiating a sufficiently high number of embryos at low oxygen level,
dedicated setups were established that also allow for the online measurement of oxygen partial pressure
and cope with the geometric restrictions of the respective accelerator.
Results
A comparison experiment at UPTD reveal a significant protecting Flash effect in both setups for zebrafish
embryo treated with 300 Gy/s relative to conventional proton dose rate. Moreover, a higher protection of
the embryos was indicated comparing the embryo length after irradiation with 10^9 Gy/s and conventional
proton dose rate, respectively.
Conclusions
Experimental setups have been established that allow for systematic proton dose rate studies using the
zebrafish embryo model at the clinical cyclotron of UPTD and at the Draco laser accelerator. Therewith, the
experimental possibilities at the Dresden platform for UHDR radiobiology are extended providing electron
and proton dose rates up to 10^9 Gy/s.