Journal of the ICRU
Beginning in 2019 Reports of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) are published as the Journal of the ICRU (CRU) and are available exclusively from Sage Publishing. At present, there will be one issue of the journal per year. Each issue of the journal will be prepared through the same ICRU committee and task force structure prior to final approval by the Commission for publication. No submitted articles will be included.
The ICRU (originally known as the International X-Ray Unit Committee and later as the International Committee for Radiological Units) was conceived at the First International Congress of Radiology (ICR) in London in 1925 and officially came into being at ICR-2 in Stockholm in 1928. The primary objective was to propose a unit for measurement of radiation as applied in medicine. From 1950 the ICRU expanded its role significantly to embrace a wider field. Initially meetings were held every 3 years at ICR congresses (excluding the 13-year period encompassing World War II) with one physicist and one radiologist from each participating country having the right of attendance with the Chair being nominated by the ICR host country. A permanent Commission was elected in 1953. L S Taylor (USA) served ICRU as a member [1928 – 1934] and then Secretary [1934 – 1953], first permanent Chair [1953 – 1969] and then Honorary Chair [1969 until his death in 2004]. Subsequent ICRU Chairs have been: H O Wyckoff (USA) [1969 – 1985]; A Allisy (France) [1985 – 1997]; A Wambersie (Belgium) [1997 – 2006]; P M DeLuca, Jr (USA) [2006 – 2009]; H-G Menzel (Germany) [2009 – 2018]. Vincent Grégoire is the current Chair.
The ICRU has as its principal objective the development of internationally accepted recommendations regarding:
(1) quantities and units of radiation and radioactivity;
(2) procedures suitable for the measurement and application of these quantities in diagnostic radiology, radiation therapy, radiation biology, nuclear medicine, radiation protection, and industrial and environmental activities;
(3) physical data needed in the application of these procedures, the use of which assures uniformity in reporting.
The ICRU endeavours to collect and evaluate the latest data and information pertinent to the problems of radiation measurement, and to recommend in its publications the most appropriate values of radiation quantities and the most acceptable and safest techniques for current use. The Commission maintains close contacts with the US National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) as well as with other international organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Health Organization (WHO), the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures/Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) and the International Committee for Weights and Measures/ComitéInternational des Poids et Mesures (CIPM). Many organizations and institutes, radiation workers, patients (particularly those with cancer) and indeed the public benefit directly from the activities of the ICRU.
| V. Grégoire (Chairman) | Léon Bérard Cancer Center, Lyon, France |
| T. R. Mackie (Vice Chairman) | University of Wisconsin, USA |
| M.-E. Brandan (Secretary) | National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico |
| J. M. Boone | University of California-Davis, USA |
| S. M. Bentzen | University of Maryland-Baltimore, USA |
| F. Boshud | Lausanne University, Switzerland |
| D. T. Burns | Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, Sèvres, France |
| R. W. Howell | Rutgers University, USA |
| D. A. Jaffray | MD Anderson, USA |
| P. Olko | Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland |
| B. O’Sullivan | Université de Montreal, Canada |
| T. Otto | CERN, Switzerland |
| D. W. O. Rogers | Concordia University, Canada |
| N. Saito | Research Institute for Measurement and Analytical Instrumentation, Japan |
| T.-C. Yen | Chang Gung University, Taiwan |
| R. W. Howell | Rutgers University, USA |
| V. Grégoire (Chairman) | Léon Bérard Cancer Center, Lyon, France |
The journal consists of peer-reviewed commissioned reports, and no submitted articles are accepted for publication. However, the editors welcome suggestions for report topics based on a need to establish international consensus on matters relating to radiation units and measurements. Reports are sent out for peer-review by three or more subject experts. All editorial board members also review the reports. Final decision is made by the chairman of the ICRU Committee, Dr. Vincent Grégoire.