Facilitating the Adoption of Non-Radioisotopic Technologies in the Research Community:
Reproducibility and Comparability

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) seeks to assist and support all partnersin the fields of radiobiology, radiation physics, and related areasto transition from Cesiumbased technologies to X-ray technologies. However, there has been ongoing discussion and debate amongst potential ‘transitioners’ about how feasible this may be for their respective institutions. BNL’s recent Alternative Technologies Meta Study (February 2022) uncovered that there is an underlying reason for this debate. A broader ‘reproducibility crisis’ in the reporting of the research using the X-ray technology itself significantly contributes to the confusion and reluctance a researcher may experience when considering a transition. The lack of standard reporting measures has proven to be a strong deterrent as researchers acknowledge that valuable science always starts with acceptance of recognizable experimental variables that others are able to compare and confer with. In order to begin moving in a direction that resolves the aforementioned reproducibility issue, NNSA gathered leaders from the fields of medical physics and radiobiology to determine specific parameters that should be included in published literature and projects utilizing X-ray technology. The meeting, titled Compatibility of Irradiation Research Protocols Expert Roundtable (CIRPER), was also an opportunity for federal partners to better understand the nuanced challenges and opportunities researchers face in transitioning. This report describes the major topics that were of discussion during the meeting, as well as BNL’s recommendations on how best to proceed.