| Article | |
| Title | An experimental study of focused very high energy electron beams for radiotherapy |
| Author(s) | Kokurewicz, Karolina (Glasgow U.) ; Brunetti, Enrico (Glasgow U.) ; Curcio, Alessandro (CERN) ; Gamba, Davide (CERN) ; Garolfi, Luca (CERN) ; Gilardi, Antonio (CERN ; U. Naples (main) ; INFN, Naples) ; Senes, Eugenio (CERN ; JAI, UK) ; Sjobak, Kyrre Ness (CERN ; U. Oslo (main)) ; Farabolini, Wilfrid (CERN ; U. Paris-Saclay) ; Corsini, Roberto (CERN) ; Jaroszynski, Dino Anthony (Glasgow U.) |
| Publication | 2021 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| In: | Commun. Phys. 4 (2021) 33 |
| DOI | 10.1038/s42005-021-00536-0 |
| Subject category | Accelerators and Storage Rings ; Health Physics and Radiation Effects |
| Abstract | Very high energy electron (VHEE) beams have been proposed as an alternative radiotherapy modality to megavoltage photons; they penetrate deeply without significant scattering in inhomogeneous tissue because of their high relativistic inertia. However, the depth dose distribution of a single, collimated VHEE beam is quasi-uniform, which can lead to healthy tissue being overexposed. This can be largely overcome by focusing the VHEE beam to a small spot. Here, we present experiments to demonstrate focusing as a means of concentrating dose into small volumetric elements inside a target. We find good agreement between measured dose distributions and Monte Carlo simulations. Focused radiation beams could be used to precisely target tumours or hypoxic regions of a tumour, which would enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy. The development of new accelerator technologies may provide future compact systems for delivering these focused beams to tumours, a concept that can also be extended to X-rays and hadrons. |
| Copyright/License | © 2021-2024 The Author(s) (License: CC-BY-4.0) |
Corresponding record in: Inspire
Записът е създаден на 2022-05-21, последна промяна на 2022-06-16
