IAEA Hosts Global Dosimetry Symposium in Vienna: Focusing on Frontiers of Precision Radiation Medicine and Metrological Quality Control

From 5 to 9 October 2026, the “International Symposium on Standards, Applications and Quality Assurance” (IDOS 2026), hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was held at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. More than 500 medical physicists, radiation metrology experts and researchers from 120 countries around the world gathered to discuss precision measurement of radiation doses in radiotherapy, medical imaging and nuclear medicine.

With the rapid evolution of radiotherapy technologies, radionuclide therapy and interventional radiology, the application of ionizing radiation in the diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors and major diseases has become increasingly widespread, imposing more stringent clinical requirements on the accuracy and traceability of absorbed doses. Dosimetry, as the fundamental discipline for measuring absorbed doses of ionizing radiation, is the cornerstone for ensuring the effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment while strictly preventing excessive radiation exposure to patients' normal tissues. This symposium comprehensively reviewed the latest frontiers of radiation dosimetry, broadly covering clinical application scenarios such as radiotherapy, diagnostic and interventional radiology, and targeted radionuclide therapy, and focused on cross-cutting hot topics including AI-based dose calculation models, measurement uncertainty evaluation, and dose auditing.

Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, emphasized in her opening address that the absolute accuracy of ionizing radiation measurement is directly related to patient safety, and that since the IDOS series of conferences was established in 1987, it has been committed to connecting the complete dosimetry technical chain from “national primary measurement standards” to “clinical bedside application.”

It is noteworthy that this IDOS symposium coincides with the 50th anniversary of the IAEA/WHO Secondary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory Network (SSDL Network). Since its establishment in 1976, the network has been coordinated by the IAEA and expanded to 88 specialized laboratories covering 76 Member States (more than half of which are developing countries). Its core responsibility is to precisely anchor and trace the national dose standards of each Member State to the International System of Units (SI).

As a global quality control hub, the IAEA Dosimetry Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria, continues to provide instrument calibration and remote dose auditing services for the network and hospitals worldwide. Official statistics show that since 1969, the laboratory has cumulatively conducted independent dose verification audits for 3,021 hospitals and 6,469 radiotherapy devices in 146 countries worldwide, effectively ensuring dose consistency and safety in global radiation medicine clinical practice.