The clinical translation of FLASH radiotherapy holds great promise, with demonstrated FLASH effect, the advantageous normal tissue sparing effect under ultrahigh-dose rate (UHDR) delivery, observed in numerous preclinical studies. Nonetheless, FLASH clinical implementation presents unique challenges in ensuring the safety and accuracy of patient treatments.

A rigorous and robust quality assurance (QA) program needs to be developed to address the ultrahigh-dose rate related treatment considerations.

In this talk, Jennifer Wei Zou will delve into the efforts of our NRG FLASH working group, which outlines the framework of quality assurance for FLASH clinical trials while addressing current technology gaps, with a focus on the electron and proton treatment modalities. She will discuss various aspects, including the available UHDR delivery techniques, patient treatment safety considerations, advancements in dosimetry and additional UHDR-related QA considerations. As the field of FLASH radiotherapy continues to rapidly evolve, addressing these challenges will be essential to fully harness the benefits of the FLASH effect for patients.

Dr Jennifer Wei Zou is an associate professor and a medical physicist in the University of Pennsylvania. With more than 15 years of clinical and research experience in radiotherapy, she has been actively involved in proton FLASH development at Penn. Currently, she leads the NRG FLASH workgroup, focusing on the physics support and technical needs essential for FLASH clinical trials.