About KIRAMS

The RCA (Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific) is an intergovernmental agreement among
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Member States in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Since its establishment in 1972 as the first regional cooperative agreement under the auspices of the IAEA, the RCA has had a long history of providing an effective framework for regional cooperation bringing socioeconomic benefits to the Government Parties and the region. It has not only delivered projects that have transferred a wide range of beneficial nuclear science and technology but it has also demonstrated the power of these technologies to contribute to the sustainable developmentand enhanced socioeconomic well-being in the region.

  Under the umbrella of this Agreement, the Government Parties have effectively steered the RCA. Programme to address their specifically identified needs and priorities as well as those of the Asia-Pacific region generally. Through the development of nuclear technology and science, more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable solutions have been able to be applied to addressthese problems.

• Since its advent as a Radiation Medicine Research Center in 1963, the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences(KIRAMS) has contributed to the advancement of science and technology in Korea and the improvement of the national health status based on research on the medical application of radiation.

  In 1963, KIRAMS first brought in a Cobalt-60, the first radiotherapy machine for cancer in Korea, and significantly increased the cure rate of cancer patients. In 2002, we successfully established state-of-the-art radiotherapy in Korea by bringing in the first CyberKnife. In 2003, KIRAMS utilized PET/CT to increase the accuracy of cancer diagnosis. and also developed a cyclotron using local technology, thereby laying the foundation for cancer research endeavors for the early diagnosis and treatment of cancer using radioactive isotopes.

  With these past achievements, KIRAMS has contributed to the global cancer eradication project, carrying out IAEA RAS projects from 2012 to the present.