Annual report of National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 2002

National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) activities were firstly assessed by the committee of Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Research and development in the report were making good progress during the year and the HIMAC for cancer therapy was applied earlier than scheduled as a highly advanced medical care in the specified NIRS hospital. Center for Radiation Emergency Medicine newly added Department of Dose Assessment and became the Research Center for Radiation Exposure Medicine. The main items of this report, being the same as the previous year's, are: the summary of NIRS activities; research and development including studies of important project, fundamental research, fundamental and frontier research, contract research and fact-finding; management; organization/budget/finance; and appendix. Important projects are radiological studies in advanced medicine, on sensitivity, of effects on human and of hazard. Fundamental research concerns studies of environmental radiation, radiobiology, heavy particle ion therapy, diagnostic imaging, dose assessment and protection in medical radiation, brain function, systematic basic technology of nuclear sciences and international cooperation. Fact-finding studies are on the present situations of people exposed by nuclear experiment at Bikini Atoll in 1954 and of patients treated with thorotrast in past. Appendix cites the personnel name list, honorable events, cooperative studies, patent situation and others. (N.I.)