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For people, place, prosperity and planet, we deliver impact with measurement science.

Industries

Healthcare

Improving quality of life in the UK

NPL works with researchers, industry, government and regulators to tackle the UK’s key health challenges. Our work enables longer, healthier and more prosperous lives by accelerating the detection of priority diseases and our readiness to fight current and future pandemics. We support the UK’s position at the forefront of cutting-edge healthcare and the rapid adoption of new drugs and future therapies in line with regulation. Our work plays a vital role in the development of new tools in the fight against anti-microbial resistance and provides confidence in data for early diagnosis and precision medicine.

 

Contact us

See below for an overview of the key services we offer to the healthcare sector.

Radiotherapy and diagnostic services

Hydrophones for ultrasonics calibration

NPL offers UKAS accredited and ISO 17025 compliant calibration of free-field sensitivity of hydrophones used to characterise medical ultrasonic fields.

Therapy level photon calibration

We provide traceable calibration of a therapy-level dosimeter for linac photon beam, using a cobalt reference.

Therapy level electron calibration

NPL provides traceable calibration of therapy-level dosimeter for Linac Electron beam.

Electrometer calibration

Our electrometers help to read data from ion chambers with a calibration uncertainty of ± 0.2 %.  

Radiotherapy dosimetry audits

NPL offers a wide range of reference and end-to-end dosimetry audits for advanced radiotherapy.  

Brachytherapy  calibration

We can provide calibration for 192Ir high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy dosemeters, used as secondary standards or for instruments required for accurate measurements.  

Protection level air karma

We offer a calibration service of ion chambers for lower dose rate radiation.

Diagnostic and mammographic x-ray dosemeters

NPL provides diagnostics for ion chambers and mammographic calibration services in accordance with BS IEC 61267:2006 for Medical Diagnostic X-ray Equipment.

Ophthalmic applicator calibration

Calibration services for Ru-106 and Sr-90 curved and planar ophthalmic applicators with an uncertainty of ± 7 % (k=2).

 

Radioactivity services

Standardised radionuclide - calibration and supply

We provide calibration of pure-β, α, β/γ emitting radionuclides for nuclear medicine. 

Custom radionuclide - calibration and supply

The nuclear metrology group at NPL can supply custom made standards for a wide range of radionuclides and activity concentrations.  

Fidelis secondary standard radionuclide calibrator

Our ionisation chamber provides rapid access to traceable measurements for a wide range of medical and industrial radionuclides.

 

 

Proficiency testing

Environmental proficiency test exercise

We provide traceable proficiency assessment to test, validate and compare your laboratory’s performance in carrying out measurements.

 

Skill development

Practical course in reference dosimetry

This blended learning course will develop a fundamental, theoretical and practical understanding of all aspects of reference dosimetry and familiarise learners with UK primary standards & codes of practice.

Radionuclide calibrator course

This 2-day e-learning course will help hospitals to maximise accuracy of activity measurements, help them to meet nuclear medicine competencies and improve quality assurance processes.

 

Impurity checks

Radionuclidic impurity checks

Within this UKAS accredited testing, fluorine-18 is attached to glucose molecules which, once in the body, are absorbed by tumours and used for cancer imaging. 

 

Case study

Optimising diagnostic beads for improved antibiotic treatment

Article

Case study

New low-cost flexible X-ray detectors

Article

Our research

Our research for the Healthcare sector ranges from developing new imaging techniques to understanding how drugs actually work.

Contact us

Our research and measurement solutions support innovation and product development. We work with companies to deliver business advantage and commercial success.
Contact our Customer Services team on +44 20 8943 7070