Project Description – Emmy Noether Programme

Miriam Katharina Brosi, [cityLund/Karlsruhe?]

Beam Dynamics and Collective Effects in Structured Beams for Advanced Accelerator based Radiation Therapy (generation, detection/diagnostics, transport,matter-interaction)

Project Description

1	Starting Point

State of the art and preliminary work
Radiotherapy (RT) has been continuously a very valuable tool in cancer treatment and with the significant advances in the field in over the years, RT promises to contribute even more towards a successful and well tolerable treatment of cancer by reducing side effects while maintaining or even enhancing treatment efficacy in the future and improving the quality of life of the patients. 
In Europe, radiotherapy is recommended as part of the treatment plan for around 50% of cancer patients. Scientific and technological advances in a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines are an important cornerstone for developments in radiotherapy due to the high performance requirements on the used technologies. Radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation to damage the DNA within the tumor cells, which prevents the cells from reproducing and eventually leads to their death. One common approach employs high-energy beams of particles or X-rays to irradiate the cancer cells and shrink or destroy the tumors. This non-invasive, targeted approach focuses on delivering a precise and targeted dose of ionizing radiation directly to the affected area, minimizing damage to healthy tissues while effectively treating the selected area. As still small areas of healthy tissue are irradiated in order to ensure the treatment of all cancerous cells, an accurate control of the dose rate is required to keep a balance between tumor control and normal tissue tolerance. The range between radiation doses that effectively destroy cancer cells while only causing minimal damage to healthy tissues and organs is called the therapeutic window. In conventional radiotherapy, this requires a carefully balancing of the number of fractions (dose sessions) and the dose per fraction to achieve optimal results and avoiding excessive harm to nearby healthy tissues. A widening of this window is one of the main goals of radiotherapy research. 
The external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is based on particle accelerators to produce the high-energy beams, which can range from X-rays over electrons and protons to helium and carbon ions. The different beam types offer different advantages in their interaction with matter. Photon (x-ray) radiotherapy is the most common form and has been widely studied. Beam energies can range from low energies around 100 keV for superficial treatment up to energies as high as 4 to 25 MeV for treatments of larger tumors deep within the body. More than 90% of radiotherapy patients receive high-energy X-rays produced by bremsstrahlung of electrons accelerated in linear accelerators. The direct usage of electrons is limited to more superficial treatments as they only penetrate a few centimeters into tissue before losing energy. This makes electron radiotherapy particularly suitable for treating superficial or shallow tumors such as skin or lymphoma cancer, while sparing deeper organs. Heavier particles like protons or ions deposit most of their energy immediately before the end of their path through the tissue (Bragg peak), resulting in reduced damage to healthy tissues before and beyond the target area. This makes proton and ion therapy particularly useful for treating deep tumors or those near critical structures. The requirements on stability and reproducibility of the accelerators providing the radiation beams are very high to ensure that the dose applied to the patient is within 5% of the prescribed treatment dose, requiring a deviation in reference dose of less than 1% for dose absorbed to water. Therefore precise calibration and dosimetry measurements are required and national standards are defined. For conventional RT the primary standard have been defined by several national metrology institutions. For conventional MeV electron beams the Fricke dosimetry method is used as primary standard for absorbed dose to water. For proton therapy dosimetry, graphite calorimeters have been well established as primary standard level instruments. Advancements and new concepts of treatment and beam modalities in radiotherapy lead to increasing requirements on dosimetry as well as on the diagnostics and understanding of the beam dynamics in the accelerators used for beam generation. Especially for new approaches including temporally or spatially modulated beams, new effects might need to be considered in the examination and simulation of the beams and their generation. Two advanced approaches to radiotherapy have received considerable attention in the last years and are being investigated in preclinical trials.  

FLASH radiotherapy

Figure 1: Sketch of the therapeutic window increasing as normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) is shifted to higher dose for FLASH RT and tumor control probability (TCP) remains.

FLASH RT is a novel approach which focuses on delivering very high doses in an ultra-short time frame, typically within milliseconds or less. This technique exploit the unique properties of such short pulses to enhance tumor cell killing while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues. In conventional external beam RT typically around 30 fractions with 1.8 - 2 Gy per fraction are delivered with a dose rate ranging from  0.2 to 20 Gy/min. For FLASH RT dose rates of more than 40 Gy/s were observed to be effective in combination of pulse length shorter than 500 ms and a total dose of 10 Gy or more. The observed advantage of FLASH radiotherapy is the significant shift of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) to higher doses for the very high dose-rates while the tumor control probability (TCP) remains unchanged (see Figure 1). This significant widening of the therapeutic window allows to apply significantly higher dose per fraction than conventional radiation therapy without causing severe side effects, such as acute normal tissue reactions or long-term complications. Preclinical studies report evidence for a radio-protective effect in healthy tissue during FLASH RT. One suspected  underlying mechanism involves the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within tumor cells, which increases the  damage taken from high doses of ionizing radiation, while the short pulse duration in FLASH is hypothesized to allows for a rapid intracellular oxygen depletion resulting in a minimal ROS production in normal tissue, reducing the risk of side effects and enhancing treatment tolerance. Other mechanisms under study investigate the effects of FLASH pulses on DNA damage response, and immunoreaction. While the exact mechanisms behind the beneficial FLASH effect are not yet fully understood, the effect has been experimentally demonstrated to occur for irradiation with photon, electron and ion. This gives hope that the normal tissue sparing effects could be generally applied and may lead to improved treatment outcomes and reduced overall toxicity for patients with various types of cancer. Furthermore, the reduction in irradiation duration and in necessary repeat treatments could lead to the an increase in the total number of patients treated. For this to become possible, several open questions and challenges need to be solved in addition to further medical research on what the optimal parameters such as pulse duration, intensity and energy are.
One of the main reasons for the many challenges to translate FLASH RT to clinical application is the combination of short pulses and high intensities leading to extreme conditions and novel phenomena. In the same ways, the positive effect FLASH has on the biological processes differs from the effect of conventional RT requiring further investigations, the FLASH pulses also affect the detection mechanisms in diagnostics as well. The high dose combined with the short pulse makes dose measurements difficult, as different typical dosimetry technics have shown  deviations from the required linear detection efficiency. So is, for example, the primary standard of dose absorbed to water via Fricke dosimetry nearly independent on does rate up to approximately 2 Gy per pulse, which was sufficient for conventional electron RT but is exceeded under FLASH conditions. This makes the primary standards for dosimetry in conventional RT not be directly applicable and forces the definition of new standards. To this end, the effects leading to the observed deviations between expected and detected dose are under investigation and new dosimetry calibration procedures and/or detectors are tested. Recent work has included further investigations of ion-recombination in ionization chambers having an increased effect due to the high dose-rates and extreme time structure of FLASH pulses including improved ways to calculate the recombination correction factors normally used to correct for ion-recombination effects. In addition, systematic tests of possible, alternative detection mechanisms such as solid-state calorimeters and small-volume and active dosimeters have been conducted. Active detectors and real-time diagnostics become also increasingly relevant for beam monitoring as each of the few high dose pulses carry a non-negligible amount of the total dose described for treatment, increasing the required per shot accuracy as fluctuations in pose per pulse are not averaged out anymore. 
Furthermore, for most standard medical accelerators these beam conditions are challenging to impossible to archive, requiring substantial improvement or the development of new dedicated FLASH accelerators. Laser-driven particle acceleration based on the use of intense, ultra-short laser pulses could be interesting, compact sources for high energy FLASH RT for electrons as well as ions. In mean time for development and experiments dedicated accelerator facilities with compatible beam conditions are a possible test-bed for per-clinical research. 
Additionally to the possibility to generate beams for FLASH RT also the diagnostic and simulation for these type of beams needs to be adjusted and brought up to the high accuracy level necessary for clinical application. At current RT accelerators diagnostic mostly focuses on the beam after the accelerator. The wide range of fast and accurate accelerator diagnostics available and employed in research accelerators could be exploited further then currently done to increase the extend of monitoring and control over the produced pulses. 
In general, a sound understanding of the effects involved in the challenging short-pulse dynamics for photons, electron and ions is required for the detection but also the generation and propagation of these short, intense microsecond down to femtosecond pulses, compared to continues or long pulsed beams. In accelerator physics, the study of dynamics in short pulses is an ongoing topic including effects caused by self-induced electromagnetic fields, causing interaction among the charged beam particles through space charge forces and the excitation of wake fields in the surrounding structures. As theses collective effects describe the interaction between the particles in the beam, they become more and more relevant for increasingly extreme beam properties, such as for decreasing pulse length and increasing pulse intensity, as well as with spatial structuring of the beam. They have not been considered in the past in conventional accelerator based RT due to the rather long pulses and therefore low momentary intensity/dose-rates and are also typically not included in calculations of the beam transport through matter into the target with simulation tools such as FLUKA, EGSnrc or BDSIM with Geant4.      - OPAL does include 3D space charge, seems to mainly be used for proton therapy

Radiotherapy with spatially structured beams
While in FLASH RT the radiation beam is structured longitudinally in short pulses there are also application in RT with spatially structured beams. This equally leads to an increased complexity in the dynamics as well as diagnostics of the beam and dose. One such an approach to RT actively discussed is Microbeam Radiotherapy (MRT). MRT employs spatially fractionated beams  and is based on the clinical experience of GRID radiotherapy. The spatial intensity modulation at the micrometer scale has been recognized to have the potential to reduce normal tissue damage. The underlying biological mechanisms are suspected to have significant overlap with the mechanisms behind the FLASH effect due to the similarly high dose and dose rates in the micron-sized individual beams in the array of parallel microbeams. Earlier studies with electron GRID radiotherapy have investigated the potential use of electron beams, with centimeter sized grid blocks and a naturally limited penetration depth of the MeV electrons employed. Recently, approaches with protons haven been investigated, showing similarly promising results in the sparing of healthy tissue by reducing the normal tissue toxicity. It was assumed, that even so the proton microbeams spread out in the normal tissue they stay separated and provide the normal tissue sparing effect until they reach the tumor where they achieve a homogeneous dose distribution leaving the tumor response unaffected. Most studies on MRT have been conducted with X-rays and microbeam spot sizes of 25 - 100 μm and a spot spacing of 50 - 200 μm. The unidirectional microbeams are mainly produced by inserting a multi-slit collimator into an x-ray beam with very small divergence produced at a 3rd generation light source. One of the main challenge for the clinical utility of MRT are the requirements on the source. For X-rays MRT currently relies on large infrastructure synchrotron sources not fully optimized for patient treatment. It is mainly applied at Brookhaven National Laboratory (US), ESRF in Grenoble (France) and the Australian National Synchrotron in Melbourne. MRT could profit from the development of FLASH capable radiotherapy sources as they would be able to achieve the high doses and does rates needed.
An application of radiotherapy with spatially structured beam that is already used in clinical treatment is Electron Conformal Therapy (ECT). The electron beam is shaped and modulated either in energy or intensity by specialized devices such as multi-leaf collimators, a mask or bolus to match the three-dimensional shape of the tumor and to accommodate for uneven patient surfaces. This allows a precise targeting of the tumor and minimizes exposure to the surrounding healthy tissue. ECT can also be used to achieve an as homogeneous dose distribution as possible. The methods and tools used for modulation are an active field of research. Modulation based on scanning the beam over the target area or by superpositions of several different beam energies is one of the applied possibility. Most research focuses on the modulation of the beam outside the accelerator close to the target area which leaves accelerator based modulation an open question. 
Particle accelerators, beam dynamics and collective effects
As discussed above, the requirements of new advanced radiotherapy methods on particle accelerators are higher and more complex than most of the currently used standard medical accelerators can fulfill. As medical accelerators need to be robust and reliably to run without to much maintenance, continuously in the day to day operation, they are custom tailored to the specific application. Therefore, they typically do not provide the flexibility and a big enough parameter range for studying new treatment methods.  Most research on FLASH RT with electrons is consequently done on a few modified medical accelerators or on dedicated research accelerator facilities. Similarly, most studies on Microbeam RT is down on high brilliance synchrotron light sources. The advantage in employing research accelerators is the possibility to benefit from the flexibility in operation parameters and the higher degree in versatile instrumentation and diagnostics. This allows the systematic study and mapping of the best suitable parameter ranges and diagnostic for the new RT method under development before being implemented in a clinical setting. 
Research accelerators cover a wide variety of different use-cases and machine types. Circular accelerators where particles can be stored and used for the production of synchrotron radiation and linear accelerators (linac) where the particles are only propagated once through the accelerator and then used for example directly as high energy particle beam are the most common types. A more recently developed accelerator type are plasma accelerators. Where a plasma is used to generate an ultra-high acceleration gradient up to 100 GeV/m using various plasma wave drivers such as for example pulses from a high-brightness laser with a power in the petawatt range. In general, most accelerators operate with electrons or protons but also dedicated machines for different ions exist. The beam properties range from continuous beams to bunched beams of particle packages (bunches), from MeV to several GeV or for colliders even TeV beam energies, from explicitly elongated bunches with very narrow transverse sizes and divergence (ultra-low emittance) to wider but ultra-short bunches down to femtosecond or even attosecond pulse durations. For electron accelerators, the electrons are either generated via thermionic emission or with a laser pulse on a photo-cathode. The later case provides control over the pulse length as well as the transverse distribution of the generated initial electron bunch by modulating the incident laser pulse. This offers further possibilities for studies of spatially structured pulses and could open up the possibility for accelerator based beam modulation of radiotherapy beams. 
In a continuous effort, research accelerators are characterized to a higher and higher degree with regards to a wide variety of effects including complex contribution to the beam dynamics such as collective effects which become more and more relevant with the push towards more extreme beam parameters such as short, high intensity pulses or spatially structured beams. Besides the magnetic fields for guidance and focusing of the particle beams also electric fields are used to interact with the particles, for one for the basic acceleration itself but also for fast deflection in the context of diagnostics or for shaping the longitudinal charge distribution within the particle bunch by so-called higher harmonic cavities. All these external influences lead to complex dynamics of the accelerated particles, which can be described and simulated for each particle individually, and are therefore referred to as single-particle dynamics. Additionally to the externally applied fields, also self-generated electromagnetic fields act back on the particles and on the surrounding materials. These self-interactions and interactions with the environment depend on the number and distribution of the particles within a bunch and are therefore often referred to as collective effects. Each charged particle is surrounded by its electromagnetic field. The field interacts with all nearby materials such as a vacuum chamber, matter it passes through and also neighboring particles within the same bunch. These interactions can result in a force acting back on the charged particle leading to a change in movement direction or energy. The effective resistance that the charged particle experiences due to these interactions is referred to as impedance. Furthermore, in the same way one particle affects all neighboring particles, each particle is affected by the superposition of the fields of all other particles within the bunch. The resulting fields are referred to as wake fields and depend directly on the distribution of the charged particles in a bunch as well as beam energy and the material properties of the surrounding structures. Both quantities are connected, as the impedance multiplied by the Fourier-transform of the charge distribution results in the Fourier-transform of the wake field. Impedances can cause various issues in accelerator beam dynamics, such as emittance growth, energy loss, beam instabilities overall degradation of performance and deformation of the temporal and spatial shape of the particle bunch. To avoid, mitigate or control these effects, advanced models and optimization algorithms are developed to predict the influence of collective effects in the particle beams throughout the entire system. Add here maybe a short sentence and reference on collective effects in linacs/fel drivers?
Typical examples of collective effects include space charge wake fields, coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) and restive wall wake fields and are present in both circular and linear accelerators. The presence of these effects leads to instabilities like intra-beam scattering, the transverse mode-coupling instability, micro-wave instability and the micro-bunching instability. The investigation of these effects is ongoing and pushes for the understanding and control of the effects in beams with ever increasing complexity and extreme parameters such as increasingly shorter bunch length or ultra-low transverse emittances and always combined with high intensities. To this effort, I have contributed with systematic studies of the longitudinal as well as transverse collective effects and instabilities influencing the electron bunch shape in all dimensions. The main goal of my studies was to investigate the phenomena occurring under extreme operation modes, such as high charge in single bunches, dedicated short bunch-length operation modes at the storage ring KARA, small transverse bunch-size in the ultra-low emittance synchrotron light source MAX IV, all resulting in instabilities leading to dynamic sub-structures in the charge density of the particle bunches. For the investigations, I conducted experimental studies as well as systematic simulations. So showed studies of the micro-bunching instability which occurs at bunch length in the order of several picoseconds or less, for example, an additional region of instability for certain parameters at lower bunch charge as predicted by the text-book equations. To perform theoretical calculations, I used the Vlasov-Fokker-Planck solver Inovesa, which simulates the longitudinal dynamics under the influence of the coherent synchrotron radiation impedance. I was involved in the scientific conceptualization of the code as well as testing the software and extensive benchmarking against measurements to assess the correctness of the results. Later, I extended the simulation to include also the influence of the geometric and resistive-wall impedance for studies of a longitudinal instability at MAX IV. With these simulations I could very well reproduce the deformations in the longitudinal bunch shape observed experimentally (see Figure 2
Figure 2: Measurement (left) and simulation (right) of the longitudinal bunch profile on the vertical axis and the temporal evolution on the horizontal axis.

), which allowed the identification of the instability as micro-wave instability. This also proved the potential of Inovesa to simulated different types of longitudinal instabilities caused by impedances. 
Another important aspect in the investigation of collective effects are systematic measurements with a sufficiently high temporal resolution to resolve the resulting dynamic, be it separating the consecutive revolutions of a bunch in a ring based accelerator or resolving the shot to shot differences between consecutive bunches in a linear accelerator. To study the influence of micro-bunching instability on the emitted CSR and the deformation of the longitudinal bunch shape, I cooperated with the electronics institute IPE (KIT) on the development of a new ultra-fast readout system. The system enabled time-resolved measurements of the CSR intensity emitted by each bunch at every revolution in the synchrotron, as well as the synchronization with an electro-optical bunch-profile monitor. The synchronized measurements provided high resolution measurements giving further insight into the formation of sub-structures in the longitudinal bunch shape causing the observed fluctuations in the emitted CSR. PLOT Synchronous measur, only csr and long. Based on my work, a feedback system has been designed at KIT with the goal to mitigate and control the micro-bunching instability.
Recently, I could show experimentally as well as in simulations, that for certain settings in the accelerator’s magnetic lattice, a single-particle dynamics effect can be used to reduce the impact of the collective effect underlying the transverse mode-coupling instability. This instability is caused by transverse wake fields and is know to lead to drastic beam blow ups resulting in complete loss of the particles. The capability to prevent the resulting particle loss reveals possible ways of combating this instability in future low-emittance electron storage rings.

my previous work has given me a deep insight into the workings of collective effects in theoretical descriptions and simulations as well as in the diagnostics requirements for experimental studies…..
With the knowledge on collective effects in particle beams under extreme operation modes becoming relevant in the accelerator based radiotherapy due the need for production of particle beams with high temporal or spatial structuring for novel method such as FLASH or MRT…..
⇒ Little to no mentioning of consideration of collective effects, which (from accelerator physics
point of view) is expected to play an increasing role with decreasing pulse length and increasing
pulse intensity, as well as with spatial structuring of the beam.

Check  ( This description should make clear in which context you situate your own research and in what areas you intend to make a unique, innovative, promising contribution)

TODO: substructures, or micro-bunches, even more pronounced interaction between particles, as modlation of charge distribution also modulates resulting wakefield…ex microbunching, more struktures more strong wake field more interaction more driving force to broaden?
Mirkobunching also in linacs! But actually csr so nor transverse...´

fehlt noch was zu modulation in state of the art…!
Übergangsstrahlung, auch sr daher interesssant?` effects from transition radiation similar to csr impedance?

irgendwas zu protonen und collective effects??

short pulses in general hard to measure absolute power
2	Objectives and work programme

2.1	Anticipated total duration of the project

The project is anticipated to run for a total duration of six years consisting of two funding periods (36 + 36 months) in accordance with the Emmy Noether program structure. 

2.2	Objectives
The present advances in accelerator based RT, like FLASH RT or Microbeam RT, lead to operation parameters of the used accelerators that can not anymore be described by simple linear optics and beam dynamics. In fact, due to the development towards higher intensity combined with shorter pulse lengths and transverse modulations, the consideration of non-linear and complex beam dynamics influenced by collective effects becomes necessary for accelerator RT sources. Not only during the generation in the accelerator but also for the diagnostics and dosimetry as well as for the beam matter interaction on the way to the target the effect of these extreme pulse properties need to be systematically investigated. Further bringing together accelerator science and medical physics through this project is an important/necessary(??) step and will help in paving the way towards accurate and predictable generation, diagnostic and metrology of advanced radiotherapy beams based on particle accelerators.
The extreme pulse properties affect many of the open questions to be answered before bringing  FLASH and Microbeam RT to clinical use. The high dose-rates achieved by the temporally or spatially structured beams have a strong effect on the underlying mechanisms, from the improved biological interaction with healthy tissue being the main advantage and driving point, to the increased non-linearities in dosimetric measurements, and the presence of complex dynamics and self-interaction leading to collective effects in the accelerator generated particle beams, which have yet to be investigated in connection with radiotherapy, and high requirements in beam based diagnostics. Thinking further, collective effects acting on the beam can lead to significant deformations of the charge distribution and therefore of the produced dose distribution, resulting in the need to mitigation or compensation and ideally shaping of the generated RT pulse. Which, under the certain conditions, might be extendable to generated modulated beams for Microbeam RT and Electron Conformal Therapy directly in the accelerator. 

This gives rise to a 

To this end, in-depth investigation and studies of how it affects the production, propagation and detection/diagnostic of such beams and how its inclusion into theoretical calculation and simulations can contribute to bringing these new RT modalities with more extreme beam parameters closer to clinical application. 

State, what is required to improve (for biig goal of whole research topic), To this end….needs to be investigated/solved/implemented….to achieve objectives/goals…(therefore workpackages. What outcome expected?/more technical aim? Here that software expected to be developed)

The main objective is to investigate how and which collective effects (??known in the accelerator beam dynamics??) affect the beam transport, beam-matter interaction and diagnostics in novel electron radiotherapy methods with temporally and spatially structured beams. For this the following sub-objectives are conceived/targeted?. 

The main objective of the proposed project “TITLE” is…to improve the predictability and measurability?, and gain insight into the control?adjustability?influencing?? of radiotherapy beam properties and the resulting deposited dose on target. ---- by considering the influence of collective effects. 

/The main objective of the proposed project “TITLE” is to increase the accuracy of the knowledge of the radiotherapy beam properties and the resulting deposited dose on target through improved prediction and diagnostic,  and gain insight into the control?adjustability?influencing?? by considering the influence of collective effects. 

/The main goal of the proposed project “TITLE” is to improve the predictability,...control?? of the radiotherapy beam properties and the resulting deposited dose on target. 

...as contribution to bring RT closer to clinical application 
/contribute to bringing these new RT modalities with more extreme beam parameters closer to clinical application. 
To this end, the following three/four?? objectives are conceived/ targeted?/ formulated/ defined/ conceptualized:
 1.	(Increased predictability) / Improved simulation of RT beam properties on target by development of start-to-end simulation including collective effects
 2.	Improved insight into the influence of temporal or spatial pulse modulation on detection and diagnostics (selection which diagnostic tools helpful?)
 3.	Understanding of limitations/Exploring the limitations/Exploring the possibilities of to accelerator based pulse shaping and modulation
 4.	Inversion of problem( not necessarily with invertierted mathe kann auch ai???and then calc necessary start dist to get end dist?

The objectives will be achieved by investigating how collective effects affect the beam generation, beam transport, beam-matter interaction and diagnostics in novel electron radiotherapy methods with temporally and spatially structured beams. Therefore, different collective effects, describing the interaction of beam particles with one another, will be considered and incorporated into theoretical calculations and simulations of the transport of the particle beam not only within the accelerator but also extended to the transport through matter (air and water??). Furthermore, systematic studies of the dependence of different detection mechanisms and diagnostic tools on temporal and spatial pulse shapes combined with variing intensity will give insight into which selection of diagnostic tools can be used to reliably deliver??? the requested conditions. The investigation of the possibility to modulate the beam in/with the accelerator will, firstly, pursue and compare different methods which could provide different temporal and spacial modulations. Additionally, studies are required on which modulations can be achieved on the final target when taking the  transport through matter into consideration. Employing the (improved?) simulation to predict the resulting distribution on the target, might allow to already consider the effects of the eam transport during the generation of the beam. And if successful, this could enable/ allow /(aim towards) the generation of a temporal or spatial particle distribution which preemptively compensates for the expected changes during transport and finally could possibly allow the generation (within certain parameter limits?) of (arbitrary?) user-definable final distributions on the target.

So wie in karte darfgestellt sind sie verknüpft mit den meisten wichtigen punkten…

      

While the main aim is for improvements towards radiotherapy, the conducted research on the way there generates new insights and understanding, that will be valuable beyond the main topic and beneficial for different/further?? applications and research areas. The project will improve the fundamental knowledge of collective effects in particle accelerators…..
The challenge of measuring the power in short, high intensity pulses is not solely limited to dosimetry???/RT. Systematic studies of the influence of pulse length and intensity density could…
And furthermore the investigation of the possibility to modulate accelerator beams could be of interesst for research into modulated drive beams for laser-plasma accelerators and free-electron lasers. ???

“If successful, the outcome of this project could change to some extent the established rules of how storage-ring-based light sources have been designed and operated for the last 50 years.”

2.3	Work programme incl. proposed research methods

work packages, 
milesstones?
Steps per work package
methodes
methods: name possible detectors to test, name software tools, name possible ways to implements collective effects in beam transport …
several option to include collective effects in beam transport through matter
Monte Carlo simulations, particle tracking, phase-space density propagation, covariance matrices (based on statistical particle ensembles) 

Hier noch quellen dazu

‘ will pursue different ways of employing these methods in order to ’

therefore the following working point are planned:  subprojects (SPs), which are strongly
interlinked...
list workpackages
The technical aim per package….
•	improve predictability of RT beam properties and deposited dose on target
•	improve understanding of dynamic in generation of short or spatially structured RT beams
•	investigate accelerator diagnostics that will be beneficial in new medical accelerators
•	improve simulation of beam transport through matter by including collective effects
•	contribute to development of improved dosimetry detectors by testing at variety of beam conditions
•	characterize possibility to generate different temporal and spatial distributions on target already during beam generation,…. Aim to Understand the physical limits of accelerator based beam modulation and shaping.
•	provide start-to-end simulations of RT beams, from inside the accelerator through the air into the target by combining beam dynamics, beam-matter interaction and collective effects simulations
•	first step: direct prediction of the resulting temporal&spatial distribution on target
•	second step: consider deformation in beam transport already during the beam generation
•	aiming towards the generation of a spatial distribution which preemptively compensates for the expected changes, possibly allowing arbitrary user-definable final distributions
•	systematically test effect of pulse properties on diagnostics and dosimetry dependent on length, size, shape, intensity/doserate
•	study from accelerator point of view the diagnostic to reliably deliver the requested conditions

Theoretical work:
- literature research of models and methods to propagate structured radiation beams though air and matter, starting from e.g. GEANT4, BDSIM, EGSnrc (with BEAMnrc), ...
- investigate evolution of different temporally and spatially structured radiation beams passing through matter, quantify deterioration of initial structuring based on path length in different materials and initial dimensions and size of structuring (based on requirements in FLASH and microbeam RT) and different particles
- literature research on dose deposited by longitudinal and transverse structured beams
- literature research on which effect affect dosimetry of ultra short, high intensity dose rate beams
- ?develop model based on measurements in publication and extend to higher dose rates/shorter pulses?

Simulations:
- evaluate the different operation modes of FLUTE (varying pulse length and charge) with respect towards dose rate of final electron beam, with e.g. FLUKA/EGSnrc
- based on different proposed flash RT accelerators (from papers) investigate the influence of collective effects
- simulate the 6D particle distribution expected at the exit of the/A linear
accelerator, employing e.g. ASTRA (gun to start compressor with Space charge) and OCELOT (through compressor with CSR)
	-simulate different possibilities to achieve structure beam at exit:
	- spatial light modulator also used for longitudinal modulation via spectral modulation?
	- energy modulation turned spatial with spectrometer magnet at exit
	- magnet lattice, e.g. overfokussing?….
- followed by simulation of the beam dynamics for this particle distribution on its trajectory
to the target, based on existing simulation tools and models, e.g. transport/covariance matrices combined with average scattering angles based on existing beam-matter interaction descriptions
- study deformation of the temporal and spatial distribution on the way through the accelerator and outside on the way to the target under the influence of collective effects, e.g. space charge and the influence of impedances
	- sometimes simulation of particles with matter interaction only (e.g. only linear boltzman 	equation in kit-rt?), not with each other. Here add collective effects based on knowledge 	from accelerator, eg. space charge...(what else is there without magnets/bends?, 	transition radiation?)
- Investigate if link between starting distribution and output beam structure exists, by starting with custom, artificial test structures and simulate resulting structure at output, can the transformation be calculated without using particle tracking. (input of knowledge of accelerator optics/model is okay)
- develop calculation to define starting distributions in order to achieve specific output distributions (which could be based on requested beam structures defined by the results in RT developments)
-
- simulate the differences in deposited dose (2D) depending on initial distribution accelerator as well as in dependence on inclusion of the collective effects during beam transport.
- create combined simulation which includes all three parts the beam dynamic in the accelerator and the propagation through matter to the target and finally the deposited dose.

Experimental:
- survey of required vs available diagnostics to measure/determine 6D particle distribution at different positions in the linac, e.g. virtual diagnostic available
- measurements of 6D particle distribution at accelerator exit and investigate dependence on accelerator parameters, e.g. pulse length, charge, starting distribution
-test different possibilities to achieve structure beam at exit:
	- masks?
	- spatial light modulator also used for longitudinal modulation via spectral modulation?
	- energy modulation turned spatial with spectrometer magnet at exit
	- zwei quads to blow up and then collimate beam with the bigger size
	- use SLM to change spot on cathode shot by shot, and therefore, change (e.g.) scan e 	beam. is this simpler, than scanning with a magnet?
- set up necessary diagnostic/detectors/targets for dose rate measurement in air and in a water target (including market survey and acquisition)
- investigate dependence of measured dose on accelerator parameters such as pulse length, charge, longitudinal/transverse structure? ENERGY! ...
- expand setup to allow for detection of spatial distribution, (could be film Kodak XV-2 silver halide radiographic film and thermoluminescent dosimeter TLD-100 as in (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0958-3947(02)00086-9)) or what about a detector like (27x27cm? Oder doch 4x4cm??  https://www.ptwdosimetry.com/en/products/octavius-detector-1500
- experimental studies of the propagation of 6D particle distribution through air and/or
water, structuring done by mask at accelerator exit as well as structured by gun or dynamic in linac

- extend studies to X-ray(/THz?) at synchrotron light source (KARA)????????
for micro beams, normally used mask, probably no way to get electrons per-structured???
for FLASH, problem high reprate? 
- and/or electrons from Lpaccelerator…
- hit tests mit protonen? (was testen)

Periodical cross-checks between experimental results and simulations to iteratively improve both

TODO: 
- use detector that allows for 2d transverse distribution measurement….or can 2d dose be calculated from 2d distribution measurement with e.g. screen?? how does longitudinal distribution affect this????
- MASTER STUDENTS? Chance for postdoc to collect experience in supervising students…
folgende punkte offen wo master student passt und bekomme weil vorlesung halten.../praktikum...(vlt auch versuch erneuern...)
--------------
starting point: 
me (year 1): review of existing simulation tools and methods on accelerator side as well as on beam matter interaction side….starting point electron beam from FLUTE 

phd1 (year 1&2&3): experimental setup and diagnostic for structured electron beam at/after flute, extend beyond accelerator and into phantom/target/ ….charge distribution outside vaccum/after matter interaction & dosimetry, ...dependence on structured beam...see in plan
→ provide input for simulations and later cross-checks with simulation based on measurement results

me (year1) find postdoc 
postdoc(year 2&3): extend and combine simulations and new implement new methods to propagate structured beams through matter interaction, based on the existing simulations like MC but also transport matrix stuff, include not only single electron matter effects but also consider collective effects during transport through matter for electrons
?think about X-rays from KARA?

me(year 2&3)???think about X-rays from KARA? 

(Somewhere I could do something with systematic simulation (computational experiments) using high performance computing???)

((ALTERNATIVE: I do postdoc as described above, and postdoc does improvements on (time-resolved?) dosimetry…for ultra short pulses, would need to be detector engineer ….))

Phd2 (year4&5&6): 
based on previous results work on algorithm/method to adjust starting distribution in such a way that the a certain “requested” distribution on target is achieved by pre-compensating(??) the expected effects of transport through accelerator and matter….

me(year 4&5&6) ???
((ALTERNATIVE year 4-6: using Cstart for “energy scanning” and “pulse length” scanning measurement, to test effects on beam matter interaction during transport of structured beams and dosimetry...For this out-coupling of electrons necessary at cstart))

interface zwischen simulation und messung, 
multi-facceded simulation, mutli-stage

state of the art, vs was ich nach mir, was möchte ich addressieren, was möchte lösen
allein stellungsmerkmal herausarbeiten

ganz konkret was sind die probleme die zu adressieren sind, was sind die wow effekte
space charge, micro-bunching, übergangsstrahlung (bei material wechsel) 
viele kleine punkte (vergleich pepperpot emittance messen, andree diss)
raumladung bei detektion
statistische lösung, strahl als ensemble, beam als ensemble, streueigenschaften, reihe streuung, matirxmultiplikationen. Covariance matrix ansatz (statistische matrizen)…

diagnostic problem, durch kurz strahl pulse

diagnostic problem, durch kurz strahl pulse ”This module deals with the experimental and theoretical prerequisites (non-equilibrium beam physics, instrumentation, control). “

2.4	Handling of research data

The research data produced in this project will cover a wide variety of data types, sizes and formats. Measurement data will originate from the multitude of accelerator beam diagnostic system such as charge measurement, beam position information, transversal bunch profiles monitors or gun laser parameters, as well as from dose measurements in the water phantom. Estimating the total amount of measurement data to be generated over the course of the 6 year project duration results in several TBytes due to the multitude of diagnostics continuously running during the accelerator experiments combined with systematic parameter scans including imaging data from 2D profile measurements. Simulation will be conducted with multiple existing simulation tools like EGSnrc, FLUKA, ASTRA or Ocelott (add citation!). Furthermore, results from theoretical calculations such as self implemented simulation tools are expected and will contribute to the resulting research data as well as the developed software tools themselves. Due to the use of particle tracking simulation tools and the possibility to run simulations on a HPC cluster, the estimated amount of simulation data is also in the range of several TBytes. 
The file formats will depend on the diagnostic systems or simulation tools and can range from for example TXT, PNG, JSON or CSV to proprietary file formats such as MAT (Matlab) or custom binary file-formats. If the original format is not easily accessible and/or additional metadata should be saved with the original data, the data will be transferred into files of the hdf5 file-format (Hierarchical Data Format version 5). In the past, I have used the hdf5 file-format extensively and it has proven to be very useful to store complex data, as it is accessible with a wide variety of programming languages (e.g. Python, Matlab, C++) and provides the possibility for internal structuring the stored data in groups, multi-dimensional datasets and amend each substructure with attributes. This allows the collection of connected data, such as the output of different diagnostic tools during one experiment, as well as the addition of metadata. In this way all the information from different sources needed to evaluate measurement results including information about the used instrument types, configuration and settings and furthermore operational parameters of the accelerator. The same principle can be applied to data resulting from calculations and simulations. In this case, it is possible to for example save different derived properties of the simulation output additionally to the simulation results or combine output given in multiple files into one. And furthermore, to keep the context of the simulation and improve the re-usability, all the simulation input parameters and settings can be stored as metadata in the attributes of the hdf5-files.  Also in cases, where the stored data is not in SI units conversion factors can be included in the metadata. In cases where the read-out software or the simulation tool will be programmed from scratch, the hdf5 file-format will be used directly. A consistent filename convention will be implemented including the date (in the human readable date format ISO8601), a short name for the detector respective the simulation tool, and further information. Additional information relevant for later analysis or re-use of the data will be, as mentioned earlier, saved as metadata, either live during the measurement, for example, by reading accelerator parameters provided online from the accelerator control-system (EPICS) (always including Unix timestamps for each added parameter) or, alternatively, added later on in post-processing. All relevant accelerator settings, parameters or properties are by design saved continuously in a Casandra database. A corresponding post-processing workflow can be based on an existing Python framework developed by me which was successfully used to process more than 50 TByte of measurement data during my PhD studies. 
To document the conducted experiments, the digital logbook ELOG will be used. Originally developed at the Paul Scherrer Institut (Switzerland) under the GNU Public License, it is used in multiple accelerator facilities as a documentation standard. Small data files can be directly linked to the corresponding entries. Larger files will be stored in structured directories on a file server of the institute and a link to the storage location will be added to the ELOG entry. For documentations exceeding the logging during individual measurements, an instance of a wiki is available at the institute. Sub-spaces for individual teams can be created with corresponding access rights. There, information or discussions regarding multiple measurements or simulations can be stored. Within the framework of scientific research, regular comparisons between simulated and measured data will be performed to ensure consistency and increase data quality. Furthermore regular reference measurements at well known conditions are performed to characterize the detection chains. Regular meetings and discussions on the acquired data will be held to minimize human bias (four eyes principle). For the development of software a GitLab instance will be used. This provides a version controlled and simple possibility to save, transfer and jointly work on source codes. With the usage of GIT (distributed version control system), there is also the possibility to implement basic quality control mechanisms, e.g. git hook frameworks like pre-commit, which check the integrity of the source code before committing. For all python scripts the PEP8 coding-style convention will be respected. 
For immediate storage during the runtime of the project, the data will be saved on the institute’s own servers which are equipped with backups and allow to manage the access rights via user-groups. A specific group directory would be created with a systematic folder structure to allow the storage of the generated measurement and simulation data sorted by type and date. In addition to ensure minimal data loss every personal pc of group members will be equipped with an external backup hard drive and each member will be instructed to perform regular backups.
For long-term storage and archival of data the multi-petabyte storage systems of the host institution (e.g. LSDF) including the archival on tape storage will be used. A minimum storage period of 10 years is default for these services. Those are provided by the host institution at no cost. In addition, RADAR4KIT, a research data repository, can be used to, to bundle data and metadata, store and archive this data with the possibility to provide public access later on. For publications, high-level derivative data can be added as supplementary material on the journal web-page. For simulation data, produced with publicly available simulation code, the minimal set of parameters to recreate the simulations will be added. The corresponding full data sets can be published in KITopen via RADAR4KIT, receive a DOI and is open access. Software developed in the framework of this project is planned to be open-source and published on services such as GitHub.
Members of the project group will be provided with the possibility to learn the usage of technologies regarding data management used for the project. Due to the continuous availability throughout the project and previous experiences with large data and software management, the applicant will take on the task of coordinating the handling of research data for the project supported by the IT team of the host institute. Since the usage of established storage solutions is foreseen, the long-term storage and archival responsibility after the project ends lies with KIT.
Research data management within the project as well as the used services will conform to the guidelines published by KIT (“Guidelines for Responsible and Sustainable Research Data Management at KIT (RDM Policy)”) as well as the DFG code of conduct, and the EU open science policy.

2.5	Relevance of sex, gender and/or diversity

[Text] not relevant for proposed project content, but want to contribute to ….diversity in gender, background, nationality, ….by…
welcoming and inclusive work environement for international researchers (international office KIT?) (as I have experienced it during my time abroad) for example by establishing the group internal comunication in German and English, and ...
want to be an excample and role model for young female researchers/young women in science(?) and inform and enable possible female students/group members to join workshops/conferences towards female researchers …EXAMPLE (something that does not cost and does not take away from the male students)

2.6	Justification for the choice of host institution(s)

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) would provide an exceptionally well-suited research environment with an unique combination of multidisciplinary research infrastructure and strategic collaborations within the multitude of institutes in complementary research fields as well as with external institutions.  
The KIT is one of the eleven “Universities of Excellence” in Germany. It is unique in that it combines a university and a national research laboratory (in the Helmholtz Association) within one entity resulting in one of the biggest science institutions in Europe. These conditions provide the opportunity to combine academic and fundamental research with application-based and goal-oriented research. KIT offers the possibility to profit from the motivation and ingenuity of students and early-carrier researchers and at the same time gives access to large-scale research facilities. The excellent research at KIT covers among others the disciplines of natural and engineering sciences. Interdisciplinary KIT Centers bring together scientists from different institutes to cross-divisionally tackle challenges and research actives connected to the further development and technological improvement of society. This quest naturally leaves KIT striving to push also the advancement of medical technologies. As newest of the nine KIT Centers, the Center “Health Technologies” has recently been established in March 2023 aiming to “provide next generation innovation for the global health challenges of today and tomorrow”.
Another piece of the puzzle is the research bridge “Medical Technology for Health (MTH)” with the aim to combine knowledge from engineering sciences, molecular basic research and bio-informatics with medical expertise to develop better diagnostics and therapy. The bridge is part of the longstanding strategic partnership with the Heidelberg University HEIKA (Heidelberg Karlsruhe Strategic Partnership) which was initiated in order to combine the complementary competencies of the two Universities. Furthermore, a joint master program in biomedical engineering in cooperation with the University Heidelberg is planned to start in the winter semester 24/25 strengthening this important research area by attracting young talents.   
The close connection to the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center (HIT) and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) offers the collaboration with experts in radiotherapy and medical physics, such as Prof. Dr. Oliver Jäkel and further more provides the possibility for experimental studies with protons or ions, which could be conducted at the experimental area of the accelerator complex. 
The Accelerator Technology Platform (ATP) at KIT combines KIT internal expertise and infrastructures relevant for accelerator research, development and application. This not only includes the KIT based accelerators FLUTE and KARA (see below), experts in accelerator physics (IBPT) and accelerator relevant technologies like the Magnet Characterization Facilities (MCF) and cryogenic research laboratories, but furthermore it also includes experts and infrastructure on advanced detector technologies studying for example ultra-fast and radiation hard detection systems. With the experimental part of the proposed project relying on the possibility to conduct systematic measurement on accelerators and beams, KIT with the Institute for Beam Physics and Technology (IBPT) is an ideal environment in that it provides easy and extended access for in-house researchers to its electron accelerators. Both accelerators serve as accelerator test facilities for a variety of accelerator physics studies, leading to a high flexibility in available operation modes and beam conditions and the possibility to tailor operation modes to experimental requirements. To this end the accelerators are equipped with extensive, state of the art diagnostics and continuously serve as a test-bed for research towards novel and improved diagnostic methods.  The 2.5 GeV storage ring and synchrotron light source KARA (Karlsruhe Research Accelerator) is based on the ANKA (Angströmquelle Karlsruhe) which started operation in 2003 and which has been improved continuously since then. KARA provides short-pulsed x-ray modalities at multiple beam lines. Further more, additional operation modes have been implemented at different electron energies such as for example a short-pulse operation allowing the investigation of the dynamics in short electron bunches [Quelle mit mir?] as well as the development and tests of novel, fast diagnostic methods [auch Quelle mit mir?]. The second accelerator at KIT-IBPT is the linear electron accelerator FLUTE (Ferninfrarot Linac- und Test-Experiment). It is designed to provide ultra-short electron pulses with an energy of around 6 MeV after the low-energy section and with energies of up to 50 MeV and bunch lengths down to femtoseconds after the full accelerator. Furthermore, FLUTE provides coherent radiation in ultra-short, very intense light pulses from terahertz to far-infrared and beyond. The electrons pulses in FLUTE are generated with a femtosecond chirped laser-driven photo-injector. Recent studies include the application of machine learning for accelerator tuning tasks based on reinforcement learning as well as extend the existing diagnostics with virtual diagnostics achieved by surrogate modeling of the electron beam dynamics. Also of great importance is the recent implementation of a spatial light-modulator which allows spatial and temporal shaping of the laser pulse on the photo-cathode and therefore control of the initial electron distribution in the accelerator. EO? PERFECT FOR INVESTIGATIONS OF FLASH LIKE RT BEAM MODALITIES...
Besides the two existing accelerators, two more are planned to be build within the near future. A 50 MeV laser-plasma accelerator is being build as part of the ATHENA project in collaboration with DESY and the Helmholtz Institute Jena (HIJ). This will open the opportunity to test the developed simulation and diagnostic methods to a different type of accelerator and investigate the possibilities and limitations of LPA beams for radiotherapy. Last but not least, an innovative non-equilibrium storage ring with a wide energy acceptance will be build and will be able to accept both, the LPA as well as FLUTE, as injector. 
neuen Studiengang biomedical engineering, masterstudien gang, mit der gruppe gesprochen die das aufbaut gerade
opened communication with the ….and my contribution towards teaching would be most welcomed. 
physic neues modul, physical foundations of technologies, …
and the dekan and prodekan of the physics faculty declared their support for my involvement in lectures….
positive aufgenommen, dass ich da bei tragen kann und mit gestalten kann,
(mit studien dekan abgesprochen Günter, und mit prodeckan abgesprochen Husemann, indirekt über Anke reicht, als kontaktaufnahme…)

young and engaging fields…

Mathsee….muss noch rein für theoretical solutions and software impementations

Even with KIT being my alma mater, I am convinced that KIT offers an unparalleled opportunity, based on the multidisciplinary research environment and the close collaboration with the university Heidelberg and the Heidelberg ion-therapy center and is therefore the best-possible choice as host institution for the proposed project. The direct and timely access to flexible accelerator test-facilities generating ultra-short pulses of high energy electron and photon beams within the same institution is a strong advantage and a perfect fit for the experimental part of the project. The wide variety of research fields included in the new KIT-center “Health Technologies” combined with the collaborations with experts in medical science in Heidelberg promises multidisciplinary input and solution-finding in an inspiring, dynamic and nurturing environment.
Embedded in one of Germany’s leading healthcare and technology regions, the proposed project will be especially well positioned to provide an important contribution towards the advancement of novel accelerator based radiotherapy methods/techniques.  

3	Project- and subject-related list of publications
Works cited from sections 1 and 2, both by the applicant and by third parties. Please include DOI/URL if available. A maximum of ten of your own works cited may be highlighted; font at least Arial 9 pt.

[Text]

4	Supplementary information on the research context
Section 4 et seq. must not exceed 8 pages.

4.1	Ethical and/or legal aspects of the project

4.1.1	General ethical aspects

[Text] research is good for society and in this case working on RT even more so?

4.1.2	Descriptions of proposed investigations involving humans, human materials or identifiable data

No investigations involving humans, human material or identifiable date will be conducted.

4.1.3	Descriptions of proposed investigations involving experiments on animals

No investigations involving experiments on animals are planned.

4.1.4	Descriptions of projects involving genetic resources (or associated traditional knowledge) from a foreign country

No experiments with involving genetic resources (or associated traditional knowledge) from a foreign country will be performed.

4.1.5	Explanations regarding any possible safety-related aspects (“Dual Use Research of Concern; foreign trade law)

There are no indications in the planned research project that possible research results could produce knowledge, products or technologies that might be directly misused for significant harmful purposes (Dual Use Research of Concern, DURC).

4.2	Employment status information

Brosi, Miriam Katharina employed as Postdoc at the MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University in Lund, Sweden. The contract started on the 17th of January 2022 and runs until 16th of January 2025. 

4.3	Composition of the project group

Not applicable.

4.4	Researchers in Germany with whom you have agreed to cooperate on this project

•	Prof. Dr Oliver Jäkel (in ch.), Heidelberg University and Heidelberger Ionenstrahl Therapiezentrum (HIT) and Division Head of “Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology” Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ).
•	Prof. Dr. Anke-Susanne Müller, Institute for Beam Physics and Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
•	Dr. Erik Bründermann, Institute for Beam Physics and Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
•	Dr. Lennart Volz, Biophysics division, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt.
•	Ipe? Husemann?

4.5	Researchers abroad with whom you have agreed to cooperate on this project

[Text] ??

4.6	Researchers with whom you have collaborated scientifically within the past three years

•	MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University, Sweden: Dr. Pedro Fernandes Tavares, Dr. Åke Andersson
•	PhLAM, University Lille, France: Prof. Dr. Serge Bielawski, Dr. Christophe Szwaj, Dr. Eléonore Roussel
•	KIT, Karlsruhe, Germany: Prof. Dr. Anke-Susanne Müller, Dr. Erik Bründermann, Dr. Michele Caselle 

4.7	Project-relevant cooperation with commercial enterprises

No cooperation with commercial enterprises is planned.

4.8	Project-relevant participation in commercial enterprises

No participation in commercial enterprises is planned. 

4.9	Scientific equipment
List larger instruments that will be available to you for the project. These may include large computer facilities if computing capacity will be needed. 

•	Far-infrared linac and test experiment (FLUTE)
•	Karlsruhe Research Accelerator (KARA)
diagnostics attached to accelerators…
infrastructure??
•	HoreKa (Hochleistungsrechner Karlsruhe) 
•	?bwUniCluster 

4.10	Other submissions

The project proposal has not been previously submitted to a third party.

4.11	Other Information
Please use this section for any additional information you feel is relevant which has not been provided elsewhere.

[Text]

5	Requested modules/funds
Explain each item (stating last name, first name)

5.1	Module Junior Research Group Leader

Brosi, Miriam Katharina:
To lead the proposed project in the Emmy Noether program, the funding for the position as junior research group leader is requested for the expected project duration of 6 years consisting of two funding periods (36 + 36 months). The position will be filled by applicant, Miriam Katharina Brosi. 
Personnel Cost Category	EUR / year (as of 2024)	EUR / Sum (6 years)	
Head of independent junior research group	100200	648135	
An annual rise of 3% in personnel costs has been included.

5.2	Basic Module

5.2.1	Funding for Staff

For the proposed work program the funding for one postdoctoral researcher, two doctoral students and one to two student workers is requested. 

The postdoctoral researcher will be employed for two years on a 100% position and is planned to start at the beginning of the second project year (12 month after project start). The planned work will be composed of ……………..therefore a candiated from xxx field is envision. 
The first doctoral students will be employed for three years on a 75% position and is planned to start shortly at the project start, latest after half a year (1-6 month after project start).  The PhD thesis will be on the topic of ……………..therefore a candiated from xxx field is envision. 
The second doctoral students will be employed for three years on a 75%  (100% für ingenieur) ?? position. This position should start in the second half of project year 3 (30 month after project start). The work will focus on ……………..therefore a candiated from xxx field is envision.  
To allow for some unexpected delays during the work on the PhD thesis, an additional half year per doctoral position is requested, so that the contract could be extended to prevent financial stress for the students during the final stage of their thesis.

Additionally, some funds are requested to employ student assistants for a total of 3 years distributed over the project duration as required and interested students available. The working time would be adjusted in such a ways that the salary corresponds to a “mini job”. 
The tasks would include…..

Aufgabe (mit verweis auf arbeitsprogram) und ab wann

Personnel Cost Category	EUR / year (as of 2024)	EUR / Sum (6 years)	
Postdoctoral researcher	86100	180026	
Doctoral researcher (75%) (3 year)	59850	184990	
Doctoral researcher (75%) (3 year)	59850	196256	
Extention possibility for Phd students (75%)
(in total 1 year)	59850	65400	
Student assistants (in total 3 years)	9000	28394	
An annual rise of 3% in personnel costs has been included.

5.2.2	Direct Project Costs

[Text]

5.2.2.1	Equipment up to € 10,000, Software and Consumables

[Text]
-Safety equipment, like small dosimeters to measure area free after irradiation?
5000?
-building material for eg. halter im water target ?? and similar 
6000? → 1000 pro jahr
- cables, adapter, connectors for readout of detectors…
6000?
- amplifiers, attenuators, for readout
6000?
- humidity measure...

- portable external drives for each group member for backup of the working pc 4x1TB SSD (4x100€=400€)
- desktop PC for new diagnostics 3000€ including at least 4 TB of internal storage
- (laptop kann nicht finanziert werden? Oder doch? 4X2000€=8000€)
- monitors...
=11400

Dosimetry detectors (e.g. mircoDiamond from PTW) 9000-11000 netto
advanced markus chamber, not for photons but for protons
mircodiamond only from 100keV up.. photons...kara is lower
farmer chamber kann ab 60keV photons
 the detailed cost planning
depends on the results of our research

5.2.2.2	Travel Expenses

[Text]Teilnahme Konferenzen (1x pro doctorant, 2x für postdoc, Xx für mich? 
HIDSS4Health. https://www.hidss4health.de summer school

5.2.2.3	Visiting Researchers (excluding Mercator Fellows)

[Text]

5.2.2.4	Expenses for Laboratory Animals

[Text]

5.2.2.5	Other Costs

[Text]

5.2.2.6	Project-related Publication Expenses 

[Text] bis zu 750/Jahr für normale Publikationen (geht das z.b. druckkosten Dissertationen?), oder auch für nenn Buch kapitel oder so?
(PRL ist ehr 3000-3500USD) Nature zwischen 1500-9000 

5.2.3	Instrumentation

5.2.3.1	Equipment exceeding € 10,000

[Text] Dosimetry detectors (e.g. mircoDiamond from PTW) 9000-11000 netto
maybe gest several detectors and also something 2d resolved?

water phantom kleines horizontales 6750€ (großes motoriziertes WP → 52000€)

5.2.3.2	Major Instrumentation exceeding € 50,000

[Text]

5.3	Module Temporary Clinician Substitute
Clinician scientists may apply for a temporary substitute position instead of a position as junior research group leader. In addition, this module may be used to finance substitute medical personnel who will assume the patient-care responsibilities of the clinicians participating in your project.

[Text]

5.4	Module Mercator Fellows

[Text]

5.5	Module Workshop Funding

[Text]

5.6	Module Public Relations Funding

[Text]

5.7	Module Standard Allowance for Gender Equality Measures
Please detail what measures are planned to promote diversity and equal opportunities.

 [Text]

5.8	Module Family Allowance

[Text]