The 22NRM01 TraMeXI "Traceability in Medical X-ray Imaging Dosimetry" is a three-year research project initiated within EURAMET to enable national metrology institutes, research institutes and medical institutions to perform a critical assessment of conditions applied in calibrations compared to those used in clinical practice, as well as to study the performance of different types of dosimeters used both at clinics and for calibration purposes. Based on the achievements of future research, updated measurement and calibration procedures will be proposed to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for inclusion in relevant standards and protocols i.e., revisions of existing ones.

The overall objective of the project is to harmonize and standardize calibration and measurement procedures to ensure traceability and accurate dosimetry in the medical use of X-ray radiation within the target uncertainty of 7 % (k=2), but also meet the relevant requirements of the Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom on the protection of workers and general public against dangers of ionizing radiation.

The 22NRM01 TraMeXI project consortium consists of 14 EURAMET member countries. The project coordinator is the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland (STUK). The Laboratory for Ionizing Radiation of the Institute of Metrology of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a member of a multidisciplinary consortium, which, in the next three years, will have tasks to:

- Review a representative range of X-ray radiation fields relevant to medical imaging and, based on the review outcome, propose an update of reference radiation qualities; 

- Investigate the performance of relevant X-ray dosimeter types using calibration and clinical exposure conditions. Based on the results, updated requirements for reference and field-class dosimeters will be proposed to enable measurements with a targeted expanded uncertainty of 7% and 

- Define a harmonized calibration procedure for semiconductor-based X-ray multimeters (XMMs), and thus, enable an unbroken traceability chain for measurements of relevant clinical parameters and to validate, by an international comparison, established and updated calibration procedures and related uncertainties.

The results of the mentioned activities, in cooperation with technical committees of international organizations, and the users of the standards, will be used as input parameters to the future revision of IEC standards (IEC 61267, IEC 61674, and IEC 61676) and IAEA TRS-457.

The project officially started on June 1st, 2023. The kick-off meeting of the participants in the project, which also marks the beginning of project activities, was held in Vantaa, Finland, on 11.-12. July 2023. 

You can read more about the project at the following link: Traceability in medical X-ray imaging dosimetry - EURAMET