Flash radiotherapy using protons and heavier ions has become a hot topic of research. It offers the promise of improved long-term outcomes and faster patient throughput. Yet it raises several interesting challenges for the system developers. One of the obvious ones being how to measure beams which have higher intensity than those used today. This causes problems for established ion chamber technology due to ion recombination losses. While other detectors are in development, ion chambers remain the trusted technology.

The new Pyramid IC64-6 chamber provides a tool for researchers in the field. Featuring small chamber gaps, high position resolution, and different fill gases. This allows it to operate even when the particle beams are narrow and have high charge density. Thin polyimide electrodes with 300A gold patterning absorbs almost no beam energy. The new IC64-6 is capable of being the new gold standard for flash therapy.