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At least 559 records · Page 31

One year old and growing: a status report of the International Space Station and its partners

The International Space Station (ISS), as the largest international science and engineering program in history, features unprecedented technical, cost, scheduling, managerial, and international complexity. A number of major milestones have been accomplished to date, including the construction of major elements of flight hardware, the development of operations and sustaining engineering centers, astronaut training, and eight Space Shuttle/Mir docking missions. International partner contributions and levels of participation have been baselined, and negotiations and discussions are nearing completion regarding bartering arrangements for services and new hardware. As ISS is successfully executed, it can pave the way for more inspiring cooperative achievements in the future. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Spacecraft↗

The Columbia Debris Loan Program; Examples of Microscopic Analysis

Following the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia NASA formed The Columbia Recovery Office (CRO). The CRO was initially formed at the Johnson Space Center after the conclusion of recovery operations on May 1,2003 and then transferred .to the Kennedy Space Center on October 6,2003 and renamed The Columbia Recovery Office and Preservation. An integral part of the preservation project was the development of a process to loan Columbia debris to qualified researchers and technical educators. The purposes of this program include aiding in the advancement of advanced spacecraft design and flight safety development, the advancement of the study of hypersonic re-entry to enhance ground safety, to train and instruct accident investigators and to establish an enduring legacy for Space Shuttle Columbia and her crew. Along with a summary of the debris loan process examples of microscopic analysis of Columbia debris items will be presented. The first example will be from the reconstruction following the STS- 107 accident and how the Materials and Pro~es~steesa m used microscopic analysis to confirm the accident scenario. Additionally, three examples of microstructural results from the debris loan process from NASA internal, academia and private industry will be presented.

Russell, Rick↗

NASA Human Systems Integration Handbook

This handbook is intended to provide general guidance and information on Human Systems Integration (HSI) for the NASA community and the applicability of HSI to NASA programs and projects. The primary goals are to increase awareness and consistency across the Agency, advance the practice and implementation of HSI principles, and provide invaluable information and guidance to HSI practitioners in the performance of their duties. Specific aims of this handbook are to define HSI, illustrate the value of HSI in programmatic decisions, demonstrate how HSI fits into the NASA project life cycle process, describe how HSI applies across all three NASA Technical Authorities, provide guidance on HSI processes and products, and provide helpful information on HSI resources within the NASA community. Largely within the engineering community, a system is thought of as the integration or assemblance of hardware and software that together perform a function. HSI considers a system to be the integration of hardware, software, humans, data, and processes, where the human in HSI refers to all personnel involved with a given system, including system owners, users/customers, operators, maintainers, assemblers, support personnel, logistics suppliers, training personnel, test personnel, and others. This handbook should be used as a companion for implementing NPR 7123.1, Systems Engineering Processes and Requirements, the NASA Systems Engineering Handbook, NASA directives, and any Center-specific handbooks and directives developed for implementing programs and projects. As of 2021, both NPR 7123.1 and NPR 7120.5 require HSI to be implemented within NASA technical efforts.

Lisa O Rippy↗

T-Rex: The NASA Technology Taxonomy Recommender System

NASA tracks over 16,000 technology projects across the Agency, from propulsion systems to software. These projects are classified according to NASA’s Technology Taxonomy to facilitate data search, extraction, and application. In 2020, the Taxonomy was revised to better align strategic goals with project technical disciplines. Manual re-classification of cur-rent and historical projects was estimated to take thousands of technologist labor hours. Instead of manual classification, our team developed T-Rex, a recommender engine, trained on just a small set of manually classified projects. T-Rex was used to classify the projects and then integrate the data into TechPort to recommend classes to users when updating projects. The system and methodology are used in other NASA projects, and T-Rex has achieved 95% accepted accuracy overall.

Space Technology↗

Enterprise Mission Integration for Artemis Lunar Missions

Mission integration is an iterative process by which a specific mission is formulated, refined, planned, and executed within the established vehicle(s), architecture, and ground systems design. Mission integration includes the people, vehicle(s) and ground hardware/software, products, processes, analyses, schedules, facilities, Certification of Flight Readiness, etc. The Artemis Mission Integration Task Team (MITT) developed a series of products and processes to support the complex mission integration across various Programs within the Artemis Mission Campaign (Orion, Space Launch Systems, Exploration Ground Systems, Gateway, Human Landing System, and Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility). The Moon to Mars (M2M) Program is referred to as ‘the enterprise’ as it includes both the M2M organization and the Programs supporting the Artemis Mission Campaign. Artemis Mission Integration has five phases: mission capability, mission definition, mission preparation, mission execution, and post-mission assessment. This paper focuses on one of the enterprise-level mission checkpoints as a kick-off to the Mission Preparation phase, the Mission Integration Review (MIR), which occurs 18-24 months prior to launch. The MIR helps to confirm the defined mission technical baseline is within the existing analyzed design envelope. Details are provided on the identification of dependencies, issues, or gaps for mission-specific objectives and requirements, as well as the definition of the analysis, training, mission execution products, facilities, and detailed supporting operations requirements. The MIR was held for both Artemis I and II and this paper aims to share with the aerospace community its value as we prepare for upcoming Artemis Missions.

Mary Anne Plaza↗

Emergency response and solutions for damaged fuel assembly handling events - Lessons learned from a 2013 fuel positioning issue

In 2013, during the refueling of a French 1300 MWe reactor, a fuel assembly (FX3599) was damaged by a fuel assembly positioning tool in the reactor vessel. The upper part of a corner rod of the fuel assembly was twisted and the top end grid was torn off. Because of the protruding fuel rod, the assembly could not be easily transferred for repair to the fuel storage pool via the transfer tube. This unexpected and rarely encountered situation was assessed jointly by EDF and AREVA NP. The chosen option was to directly perform the field service inside the reactor building in cells generally used for intermediate storage during refueling. This operation, performed by EDF and AREVA, involved removing the twisted rod and positioning it in a special-purpose canister by means of a gripper-type tool for removal (KIPCI gripper) and a gripper for holding the rod in place. The special-purpose canister was designed, ordered and supplied by a sub-supplier within one week. The operation went through 3 phases. First a preparation step in the fuel building: The stripper was disassembled and technical checks carried out to ensure correct operation. The gripper tightening force was checked in real-life conditions with the gripper suspended from auxiliary crane. The fuel rod removal was simulated several times by trained operators. Second, the equipment was installed in the reactor building. And third, the operation took place in the reactor cavity: the special-purpose canister was opened, the radioactive waste canister placed in the special-purpose canister, the twisted fuel rod was then grasped by the KIPCI gripper and removed from the fuel assembly. The twisted fuel rod was positioned above the canister and dropped into it. Once the fuel rod had been removed, the canister and fuel assembly FX3599 were transferred to the fuel building and refueling resumed. The canister containing the fuel rod is currently in interim storage in the reactor pool until appropriate action is taken for it to be shipped and eventually reprocessed. EDF has performed improvement in its handling procedures and in its handling tools to avoid a similar new event.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Planning for Future Implementation of Section 180(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act: DOE's Policy Implementation Exercise - 16612

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation Planning Project (NFST) is currently conducting a 2-year Section 180(c) Proposed Policy Implementation Exercise (the Exercise) with eight states and one Native American Tribe. Under Section 180(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), as amended, the DOE is responsible for providing technical and financial assistance to states and Tribes through whose jurisdictions the Secretary of Energy plans to transport spent nuclear fuel (SNF) or high-level radioactive waste to a NWPA-authorized facility for training of local public safety officials. In the 2000's, DOE staff worked closely with state and tribal representatives to develop a revised proposed policy to implement Section 180(c), including grants for assessment and planning activities, as well as training for public safety officials. This revised proposed policy was published in a Federal Register Notice in 2008 (2008 FRN) (73 Federal Register 64933, Oct. 31, 2008). The purpose of the current Exercise is to evaluate the efficacy of DOE's 2008 revised proposed policy for implementing Section 180(c), and identify and resolve outstanding issues. This paper describes how the Exercise was collaboratively designed between DOE and state and tribal stakeholders; how it is being conducted; the interim lessons learned from the first year of the Exercise; and how it may inform and improve future consultations between DOE and state, tribal, and local public safety officials. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Energy Northwest - Horn Rapids Solar and Storage: An Assessment of Battery Technical Performance

Chartered in 1957 as a joint action agency of the state, Energy Northwest (ENW) is a consortium of 27 public utility districts and municipalities across Washington state. ENW takes advantage of economies of scale and shared services to help utilities run their operations more efficiently and at lower cost, to the benefit of more than 1.5 million customers. ENW develops, owns, and operates a diverse mix of electricity generating resources, including hydro, solar, and wind projects – and the Northwest’s only active nuclear energy facility. These projects provide enough reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy to power more than a million homes each year, and that carbon-free electricity is provided at the cost of generation. The agency continually explores new generation projects to meet its members’ needs. In 2017, as part of the second round of funding from the Washington state Clean Energy Fund, the Washington State Department of Commerce granted up to $3 million in matching funds to develop an estimated $6.5 million project that deployed a 4-MW, 20-acre solar generating array of photovoltaic (PV) panels coupled with a 1 MW/5.5 MWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage system (BESS) in Richland, Washington. The combination of PV and BESS will provide a predictable, renewable generating source and will also serve as a training ground for solar and battery technicians throughout the nation. The City of Richland will purchase the power from the project and utilize the benefits of the energy storage. The project provides Washington state with its first opportunity to integrate a large-scale solar and storage facility into its clean mix of hydro, nuclear, and wind resources. This first-of-its-kind facility combines solar generation with battery storage and technician training. In 2019, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) worked with ENW to assess the integrated PV and BESS in representative use cases that could benefit the City of Richland. Between March and May 2022, extensive testing was conducted, and the results were used to assess the technical performance of the BESS subjected to actual field operations. Both reference performance and use case tests were performed: (A) Reference performance tests assess the general technical capabilities of the BESS, such as energy capacity, round-trip efficiency (RTE), ramp rate, and signal tracking capability. These are the first tests performed (baseline), and they are repeated after use case tests (post cycle). A standardized U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy storage performance protocol was used to characterize the BESS, including representative duty cycle profiles, test procedure guidance, and calculation guidance for determining key characteristics. (B) Use case tests examine the performance of the BESS for specific use cases using duty cycles developed by PNNL in collaboration with ENW. Five use cases were selected for testing: 1) demand charge reduction, 2) load shaping, 3) transmission charge reduction, 4) Volt-VAR service, and 5) outage mitigation. The use case duty cycles were developed based on utility and site-specific characteristics in addition to the technical characteristics and physical capabilities of the BESS. Use case tests were performed between the baseline and post cycle tests. This report describes the BESS and its components, presents testing and performance analysis results, and shares key insights and lessons learned from this project. Outcomes of the tests and analyses will help ENW understand the performance of the Horn Rapids BESS in its current state and design appropriate operational strategies for this and other BESSs over the long term.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Status and future plans for C 3 R&D

C 3 is an opportunity to realize an e + e - collider for the study of the Higgs boson at √s = 250 GeV, with a well defined upgrade path to 550 GeV while staying on the same short facility footprint. C 3 is based on a fundamentally new approach to normal conducting linear accelerators that achieves both high gradient and high efficiency at relatively low cost. Given the advanced state of linear collider designs, the key system that requires technical maturation for C 3 is the main linac. This paper presents the staged approach towards a facility to demonstrate C 3 technology with both Direct (source and main linac) and Parallel (beam delivery, damping ring, ancillary component) R&D. The primary goal of the C 3 Demonstration R&D Plan is to reduce technical and cost risk by building and operating the key components of C 3 at an adequate scale. This R&D plan starts with the engineering design, and demonstration of one cryomodule and will culminate in the construction of a 3 cryomodule linac with pre-production prototypes. This R&D program would also demonstrate the linac rf fundamentals including achievable gradient and gradient stability over a full electron bunch train and breakdown rates. It will also investigate beam dynamics including energy spread, wakefields, and emittance growth. This work will be critical to confirm the suitability of the C 3 beam parameters for the physics reach and detector performance in preparation for a Conceptual Design Report (CDR), as well as for follow-on technology development and industrialization. The C 3 Demonstration R&D Plan will open up significant new scientific and technical opportunities based on development of high-gradient and high-efficiency accelerator technology. It will push this technology to operate both at the GeV scale and mature the technology to be reliable and provide high-brightness electron beams. The timeline for progressing with C 3 technology development will be governed by practical limitations on both the technical progress and resource availability. It consists of four stages: Stage 0) Ongoing fundamental R&D on structure prototypes, damping and vibrations. Stage 1) Advancing the engineering maturity of the design and developing start-to-end simulations including space-charge and wakefield effects. This stage will include testing of strucutres operating at cryogenic temperatures. Beam tests would be performed with high beam current to test full beam loading. Stage 2) Production and testing of the first cryomodule at cryogenic temperatures. This would provide sufficient experimental data to compile a CDR and it is anticipated for Stage 2 to last 3 years and to culminate with the transport of photo-electrons through the first cryomodule. Stage 3) Updates to the engineering design of the cryomodules, production of the second and third cryomodule and their installation. Lower charge and lower emittance beams will be used to investigate emittance growth. The successful full demonstration of the 3 cryomodules to deliver up to a 3 GeV beam and achieve the C 3 five gradient will allow a comprehensive and robust evaluation of the technical design of C 3 as well as mitigate technical, schedule, and cost risks required to proceed with a Technical Design Report (TDR).

radiation hardened magnets↗

Experiential findings for sustainable software ecosystems to support experimental and observational science

In the search for a sustainable approach for software ecosystems that supports experimental and observational science (EOS) across Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), we conducted a survey to understand the current and future landscape of EOS software and data. This paper describes the survey design we used to identify significant areas of interest, gaps, and potential opportunities, followed by a discussion on the obtained responses. The survey formulates questions about project demographics, technical approach, and skills required for the present and the next five years. Here, the study was conducted among 38 ORNL participants between June and July of 2021 and followed the required guidelines for human subjects training. We plan to use the collected information to help guide a vision for sustainable, community-based, and reusable scientific software ecosystems that need to adapt effectively to: (i) the evolving landscape of heterogeneous hardware in the next generation of instruments and computing (e.g. edge, distributed, accelerators), and (ii) data management requirements for data-driven science using artificial intelligence.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A New Concurrent Engineering Tool for the New Mission Design Center at NASA Ames Research Center

The NASA Ames Mission Design Center (MDC) has undergone a significant transformation process in recent years, culminating in becoming a true Concurrent Engineering Center. The underlying goal of this transformation is to better serve the Ames PI community in a cost-effective and rapidly-responsive way, providing quality products pivotal to the decision-making proposal strategy of our center. The four pillars of the change focus on four areas: personnel, physical places, tools, and training. Personnel: the MDC switched from using a dedicated pool of engineers—mostly entry-level career—for a matrixed approach with more experienced Subject Matter Experts, usually involved in spaceflight projects. These SMEs get detailed to the MDC for the duration of the study on a part-time or full-time basis. Physical places: The physical aspect pertains mostly to the layout of the new Engineering building and the dedicated concurrent engineering layout to foster collaboration. The current plan includes a dedicated space for concurrent engineering sessions as well as dedicated project rooms for concept studies. Tool: the MDC team is developing a new in-house concurrent engineering tool to facilitate concurrent engineering sessions. The team leveraged the many lessons learned and insight gained from using the current concurrent engineering tool, in use since 2007. SMEs have been involved throughout its design and development, ensuring accuracy and providing validity to the implementation approach. This new tool is database-driven and allows a team to work concurrently on the same model of a mission concept. “Workspaces” are provided for each of the traditional spacecraft mission design disciplines, including cost accounting and systems engineering. There are multiple tiers of fidelity available within each workspace, which can be completed parametrically or independently from the other disciplines as needed or synchronously with the other disciplines. A “commit” step synchronizes a workspace with the mission database and identifies any potential conflicts, along with the user who entered the conflicting data. A Mission Summary workspace enables a Study Lead to run an effective CE session, displaying key graphics, workspace status information, and technical and monetary budget information. This new CE tool will be undergoing Beta Testing with its primary user base and a limited Parts database in the summer of 2020. The team plans to release the first fully operational version in December 2020. Training: working in early concept development and maturation for a space mission requires a unique mindset and being comfortable with uncertainties in an environment where requirements are not yet fully developed, and where changes and trade-offs happen at a high tempo. The MDC started a weekly training program to ensure a common knowledge base on how do develop and mature early concept studies, as well as how to operate in a concurrent engineering environment. In conclusion, the MDC transformation will provide the overall PI community focused on cost-effective small satellite scientific missions with a powerful tool to address and mature early concepts more effectively and efficiently.

David Mauro↗

Light-Duty Vehicles Technical Requirements and Gaps for Lightweight and Propulsion Materials (VTO Workshop Report 2013)

The Vehicles Technologies Office (VTO) hosted a workshop on Lightweight and Propulsion Materials in March 2011 in Dearborn, Michigan. The Materials area of the VTO focuses on developing lightweight materials for structures and propulsion materials for more efficient power train systems. The purpose of this meeting was to gain industry’s perspective on the out-year material requirements of light-duty vehicles. In addition, this meeting focused on current technology gaps that contribute to delays in adoption of designs utilizing these lighter weight materials and those that improve propulsion efficiency. The industry experts who participated in this workshop included original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tier-one suppliers, and materials suppliers to the light-duty vehicles value chain.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Accelerated Test Methods

Neural network systems were evaluated for use in predicting wear of mechanical systems. Three different neural network software simulation packages were utilized in order to create models of tribological wear tests. Representative simple, medium, and high complexity simulation packages were selected. Pin-on-disk, rub shoe, and four-ball tribological test data was used for training, testing, and verification of the neural network models. Results showed mixed success. The neural networks were able to predict results with some accuracy if the number of input variables was low or the amount of training data was high. Increased neural network complexity resulted in more accurate results, however there was a point of diminishing return. Medium complexity models were the best trade off between accuracy and computing time requirements. A NASA Technical Memorandum and a Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers paper are being published which detail the work.

Jansen, Ralph↗

The Visible Nulling Coronagraph--Architecture Definition and Technology Development

This paper describes the advantages of visible direct detection and spectroscopy of Earth-like extrasolar planets using a nulling coronagraph instrument behind a moderately sized single aperture space telescope. Our concept synthesizes a nulling interferometer by shearing the telescope pupil, with the resultant producing a deep null. We describe nulling configurations that also include methods to mitigate stellar leakage, such as spatial filtering by a coherent array of single mode fibers, and post-starlight suppression wavefront sensing and control. With diffraction limited telescope optics and similar quality components in the optical train (lambda/20), suppression of the starlight to 1e-10 is readily achievable. We describe key features of the architecture and analysis, present latest results of laboratory measurements demonstrating achievable null depth and component development, and discuss future key technical milestones.

nulling interferometer↗

History and Status of DOE’s Standardized Canister

[Poster] The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) currently in its possession, as well as SNF that will come into its possession in the future. DOE will rely upon the standardized canister to confine radionuclides and precluding the moderator in order to ensure safe, long-term management and disposition of SNF in its possession. This strategy helps minimize characterization costs (i.e., funds and exposure) and other technical challenges associated with the traditional approach of relying on fuel-specific properties to demonstrate compliance with the regulator. The use of the standardized canister offers the following benefits: • The standardized canister design is complete. It has been tested under a variety of drop and accident scenarios and was subsequently licensed under 10 CFR 72 as a storage system as part of the Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation (FWENC) Facility. It is also part of the license submittal for Yucca Mountain. • There is high confidence that the standardized canister design can be stored within commercially-available storage casks and licensed as part of a transportation-system package. • A robust standardized canister simplifies accident analyses and does not rely on characterization of the contained waste. This simplifies safety analysis, provides a greater level of confidence with stakeholders and reduces cost and risk. • A common design for the associated packaging, closure, and loadout facilities results in significant savings. • The DOE standardized canister would simplify design efforts, procurement, and fabrication. • Standardizing handling activities and associated training, procedures, equipment, and tooling leads to enhanced safety and surety of operations. The standardized canister is the preferred package for these materials. It withstood scrutiny by the Yucca Mountain Repository License Application, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, an American Society of Mechanical Engineers peer review, and the FWENC storage license application. This evaluation summarizes and documents the status of the design and rationale for the DOE standardized canister, and outlines remaining needs before deployment. In addition, it discusses the factors that have the potential to influence storage, transportation, and disposal of DOE SNF.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

History and Status of DoE's Standardized Canister - 19657

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing spent nuclear fuel (SNF) currently in its possession, as well as SNF that will come into its possession in the future. DOE will rely upon the standardized canister to confine radionuclides and precluding the moderator in order to ensure safe, long-term management and disposition of SNF in its possession. This strategy helps minimize characterization costs (i.e., funds and exposure) and other technical challenges associated with the traditional approach of relying on fuel-specific properties to demonstrate compliance with the regulator. The use of the standardized canister offers the following benefits: - The standardized canister design is complete. It has been tested under a variety of drop and accident scenarios and was subsequently licensed under 10 CFR 72 as a storage system as part of the Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation (FWENC) Facility. It is also part of the license submittal for Yucca Mountain. - There is high confidence that the standardized canister design can be stored within commercially-available storage casks and licensed as part of a transportation-system package. - A robust standardized canister simplifies accident analyses and does not rely on characterization of the contained waste. This simplifies safety analysis, provides a greater level of confidence with stakeholders and reduces cost and risk. - A common design for the associated packaging, closure, and loadout facilities results in significant savings. - The DOE standardized canister would simplify design efforts, procurement, and fabrication. - Standardizing handling activities and associated training, procedures, equipment, and tooling leads to enhanced safety and surety of operations. The standardized canister is the preferred package for these materials. It withstood scrutiny by the Yucca Mountain Repository License Application, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, an American Society of Mechanical Engineers peer review, and the FWENC storage license application. This evaluation summarizes and documents the status of the design and rationale for the DOE standardized canister, and outlines remaining needs before deployment. In addition, it discusses the factors that have the potential to influence storage, transportation, and disposal of DOE SNF. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

TU-G-201-00: Imaging Equipment Specification and Selection in Radiation Oncology Departments

This session will update therapeutic physicists on technological advancements and radiation oncology features of commercial CT, MRI, and PET/CT imaging systems. Also described are physicists’ roles in every stage of equipment selection, purchasing, and operation, including defining specifications, evaluating vendors, making recommendations, and optimal and safe use of imaging equipment in radiation oncology environment. The first presentation defines important terminology of CT and PET/CT followed by a review of latest innovations, such as metal artifact reduction, statistical iterative reconstruction, radiation dose management, tissue classification by dual energy CT and spectral CT, improvement in spatial resolution and sensitivity in PET, and potentials of PET/MR. We will also discuss important technical specifications and items in CT and PET/CT purchasing quotes and their impacts. The second presentation will focus on key components in the request for proposal for a MRI simulator and how to evaluate vendor proposals. MRI safety issues in radiation Oncology, including MRI scanner Zones (4-zone design), will be discussed. Basic MR terminologies, important functionalities, and advanced features, which are relevant to radiation therapy, will be discussed. In the third presentation, justification of imaging systems for radiation oncology, considerations in room design and construction in a RO department, shared use with diagnostic radiology, staffing needs and training, clinical/research use cases and implementation, will be discussed. The emphasis will be on understanding and bridging the differences between diagnostic and radiation oncology installations, building consensus amongst stakeholders for purchase and use, and integrating imaging technologies into the radiation oncology environment. Learning Objectives: Learn the latest innovations of major imaging systems relevant to radiation therapy Be able to describe important technical specifications of CT, MRI, and PET/CT Understand the process of budget request, equipment justification, comparisons of technical specifications, site visits, vendor selection, and contract development.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

TU-G-201-01: What Therapy Physicists Need to Know About CT and PET/CT: Terminology and Latest Developments

This session will update therapeutic physicists on technological advancements and radiation oncology features of commercial CT, MRI, and PET/CT imaging systems. Also described are physicists’ roles in every stage of equipment selection, purchasing, and operation, including defining specifications, evaluating vendors, making recommendations, and optimal and safe use of imaging equipment in radiation oncology environment. The first presentation defines important terminology of CT and PET/CT followed by a review of latest innovations, such as metal artifact reduction, statistical iterative reconstruction, radiation dose management, tissue classification by dual energy CT and spectral CT, improvement in spatial resolution and sensitivity in PET, and potentials of PET/MR. We will also discuss important technical specifications and items in CT and PET/CT purchasing quotes and their impacts. The second presentation will focus on key components in the request for proposal for a MRI simulator and how to evaluate vendor proposals. MRI safety issues in radiation Oncology, including MRI scanner Zones (4-zone design), will be discussed. Basic MR terminologies, important functionalities, and advanced features, which are relevant to radiation therapy, will be discussed. In the third presentation, justification of imaging systems for radiation oncology, considerations in room design and construction in a RO department, shared use with diagnostic radiology, staffing needs and training, clinical/research use cases and implementation, will be discussed. The emphasis will be on understanding and bridging the differences between diagnostic and radiation oncology installations, building consensus amongst stakeholders for purchase and use, and integrating imaging technologies into the radiation oncology environment. Learning Objectives: Learn the latest innovations of major imaging systems relevant to radiation therapy Be able to describe important technical specifications of CT, MRI, and PET/CT Understand the process of budget request, equipment justification, comparisons of technical specifications, site visits, vendor selection, and contract development.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗