With the idea of transferring the knowledge of nuclear reaction instrumentation to medical applications, a project dedicated to radiotherapy with high-energy photon beams has been started. This collaboration is between the Basic Nuclear Physics Group (FNB) of CNA, the Department of Atomic, Molecular and Nuclear Physics and the Engineering School of the University of Seville, the Virgen Macarena University Hospital of Seville and the private company INABENSA (ABENGOA group). Within this project two tasks will be addressed: First, the most advanced modalities of radiotherapy need a complex planning which requires, among other things, a careful verification of the dose distribution that the patient will receive. The second task is to develop a new detection system to measure doses in the axial plane of the patient. The aim of the project is to validate a novel method to obtain dose maps in the pre-treatment of patients with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) using a dedicated set-up and a commercial silicon strip detector. Measurements are performed at Virgen Macarena University Hospital using the 6 MV photon beam produced by a Siemens Primus accelerator. Future improvements of the actual experimental set-up for obtaining a better spatial resolution will be also investigated with the use of 2D silicon detectors.

Recently the FNB group joined in a new collaboration framework between INFN, CEA Saclay, GSI and ESA. This collaboration is dedicated to an experiment named FIRST: Fragmentation of Ions Relevant for Space and Therapy, dedicated to an extensive study of nuclear reactions of interest for hadron therapy and space applications at GSI. The study of the fragmentation processes is relevant in different fields of physics concerning both basic research and applications. The energy range that is accessible at the heavy-ion synchrotron SIS at GSI is of fundamental importance for shielding in space radiations and hadron therapy. The final goal of the FIRST experiment is to measure the nuclear fragment cross-sections from the projectile fragmentation of 12C and heavier beams, in the energy range 200-1000 AMeV on several targets (light and heavy), using a complex system of detectors. The understanding of the reaction mechanisms in this experiment will be necessary for developing reliable nuclear interaction models to be used in transport codes for different applications.

One of the important accomplishments of this project is to have the Secondary Electron Detectors (SED) operating at CNA to track ion beams produced at the facility. The trainee is in charge of developing a suitable environment at the basic nuclear physics (FNB) line for operating and testing the detector. This includes upgrades to the FNB line as well as the installation and management of a data acquisition system and its adaptation to the electronics. Ziad has also investigated the electric field distribution and particle tracks inside the SED.

Ziad was actively involved in testing beam profile monitors developed by different collaborating institutes such as for example CIEMAT at the external line of the cyclotron at the CNA. He has also participated in tests of beam tracking using microchannel plate detectors for the slowed down particle beams at GSI (Germany). Moreover, Ziad has received intensive trainings at the CNA facilities as well as at other facilities (ITN-Portugal, RIBRAS-Brazil, GANIL-France) where he participated actively in mounting experimental setups and analyzing data of nuclear reaction experiments.

The trainee is also involved in a dose reconstruction project for Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy – IMRT. The objective of this project is to implement a detecting system to verify the planned dose before delivering the treatment to the patient.

In addition, beam profile monitors developed by different collaborating institutes, such as for example CIEMAT have been tested. This research was complemented by active participation in stable nuclei experiments and theoretical treatment of experimental data as one of the main scientific specialties of the Basic Nuclear Physics group at CAN.