Could alanine/EPR dosimetry be useful for ultra-high dose rate beams used for FLASH radiotherapy?

In the last years a large interest has aroused towards radiation therapy treatments with dose rates much larger with respect to the conventional ones since experiments support the evidence of a considerable normal tissue sparing effect. Indeed, in-vivo experiments showed an increasing of the therapeutic window for dose rates over 50 Gy/s [2]. If confirmed, the ‘FLASH effect’ has the potential to re-shape the future of radiation treatments, with a significant impact on many oncology patients. Significant dosimetric challenges should be dealt with for Ultra-high dose rate (UHDR) beams for FLASH radiotherapy [4]. In particular, ionization chambers are affected by ion recombination effects, alt…