The Laser-hybrid Accelerator for Radiobiological Applications; Scope of work to be carried out under the ITRF Preliminary Activity
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
The Laser-hybrid Accelerator for Radiobiological Applications (LhARA) formed the basis of the proposal to the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IAC) to create an ``Ion Therapy Research Facility'' (ITRF) in the UK. The proposed ITRF "... will be a unique, compact, single-site national research infrastructure delivering the world's first high-dose-rate ions from protons through oxygen and beyond, at energies sufficient for both in-vitro and in-vivo studies." The ITRF proposal notes that a ``... laser-hybrid proton/ion source, as proposed by the existing, UK-led, international LhARA collaboration ... can deliver this and meet the needs of the ITRF." The ITRF proposal to the UKRI IAC requested funding for a "Preliminary Phase" activity "... to develop over 2 years the specification, design, and cost of the ITRF and present these in a full Conceptual Design Report (CDR).
We propose to develop LhARA to serve the ITRF. LhARA is conceived as the new, highly flexible, source of radiation that is required to explore the vast "terra incognita" of the mechanisms by which the biological response to ionising radiation is determined by the physical characteristics of the beam, LhARA will exploit a laser to create a large flux of protons or light ions which are captured and formed into a beam by strong-focusing electron plasma lenses. The triggerable, laser-driven source allows protons and ions to be captured at energies significantly above the capture energies of conventional facilities, circumventing the current space-charge limit on the instantaneous dose rate that can be delivered. The plasma (Gabor) lenses provide the same focusing strength as high-field solenoids at a fraction of the cost. Post-acceleration using a fixed field alternating gradient accelerator (FFA) preserves the unique flexibility in the time, energy, and spatial structure of the beam afforded by the laser-driven source.
The LhARA collaboration's long-term vision is to transform the clinical practice of proton- and ion-beam therapy (IBT) by creating a fully automated, highly flexible system to harness the unique properties of laser-driven ion beams. Such a facility will be capable of delivering particle-beam therapy in completely new regimens by delivering a variety of ion species, exploiting ultra-high dose rates and novel temporal-, spatial- and spectral-fractionation schemes. The automated, laser-hybrid system will integrate patient, soft-tissue and dose-deposition imaging with real-time treatment planning to trigger the delivery of dose tailored to the individual patient in real time.
With this proposal, the multidisciplinary LhARA collaboration seeks the resources to:
* Deliver the Conceptual Design Report for LhARA to serve the Ion Therapy Research Facility;
* Initiate the R&D programme necessary to demonstrate the feasibility of the laser-driven creation of the requisite proton
and ion fluxes through measurement and simulation;
* Create the detailed specification of a second Gabor-lens prototype through an initial programme of experiment, simulation, and design;
* Develop the design of an experiment to prove the principle of ion-acoustic dose-profile measurement; and
* Create a detailed specification for the in-vitro and in-vivo end stations through peer-group consultation, design and simulation.
The proposed two-year programme will lay the foundations for the pre-construction phase identified in the ITRF proposal. Serving the ITRF, LhARA will be a unique, compact, research infrastructure. Fundamentally new biological mechanisms in radiation treatment and immune response which underpin the clinical efficacy of proton- and ion-beam therapy will be elucidated. Exploitation of LhARA at the ITRF will promote the disruptive technologies required to pave the way for a radical transformation of clinical practice.
We propose to develop LhARA to serve the ITRF. LhARA is conceived as the new, highly flexible, source of radiation that is required to explore the vast "terra incognita" of the mechanisms by which the biological response to ionising radiation is determined by the physical characteristics of the beam, LhARA will exploit a laser to create a large flux of protons or light ions which are captured and formed into a beam by strong-focusing electron plasma lenses. The triggerable, laser-driven source allows protons and ions to be captured at energies significantly above the capture energies of conventional facilities, circumventing the current space-charge limit on the instantaneous dose rate that can be delivered. The plasma (Gabor) lenses provide the same focusing strength as high-field solenoids at a fraction of the cost. Post-acceleration using a fixed field alternating gradient accelerator (FFA) preserves the unique flexibility in the time, energy, and spatial structure of the beam afforded by the laser-driven source.
The LhARA collaboration's long-term vision is to transform the clinical practice of proton- and ion-beam therapy (IBT) by creating a fully automated, highly flexible system to harness the unique properties of laser-driven ion beams. Such a facility will be capable of delivering particle-beam therapy in completely new regimens by delivering a variety of ion species, exploiting ultra-high dose rates and novel temporal-, spatial- and spectral-fractionation schemes. The automated, laser-hybrid system will integrate patient, soft-tissue and dose-deposition imaging with real-time treatment planning to trigger the delivery of dose tailored to the individual patient in real time.
With this proposal, the multidisciplinary LhARA collaboration seeks the resources to:
* Deliver the Conceptual Design Report for LhARA to serve the Ion Therapy Research Facility;
* Initiate the R&D programme necessary to demonstrate the feasibility of the laser-driven creation of the requisite proton
and ion fluxes through measurement and simulation;
* Create the detailed specification of a second Gabor-lens prototype through an initial programme of experiment, simulation, and design;
* Develop the design of an experiment to prove the principle of ion-acoustic dose-profile measurement; and
* Create a detailed specification for the in-vitro and in-vivo end stations through peer-group consultation, design and simulation.
The proposed two-year programme will lay the foundations for the pre-construction phase identified in the ITRF proposal. Serving the ITRF, LhARA will be a unique, compact, research infrastructure. Fundamentally new biological mechanisms in radiation treatment and immune response which underpin the clinical efficacy of proton- and ion-beam therapy will be elucidated. Exploitation of LhARA at the ITRF will promote the disruptive technologies required to pave the way for a radical transformation of clinical practice.
Organisations
- Imperial College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust (Collaboration)
- University of Surrey (Collaboration)
- National Physical Laboratory (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE (Collaboration)
- Maxeler Technologies Inc (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM (Collaboration)
- Leo Cancer Care (Collaboration)
- Curie Institute Paris (Institut Curie) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL (Collaboration)
- The Christie Hospital (Collaboration)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- University of Manchester (Collaboration)
- Lancaster University (Collaboration)
- Corerain Technologies (Collaboration)
- Royal Holloway, University of London (Collaboration)
- QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY BELFAST (Collaboration)
- IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS BIRMINGHAM NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (Collaboration)
- Sci-Tech Daresbury (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Collaboration)
- Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (Collaboration)
- Cascade Technologies (Collaboration)
- Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) (Collaboration)
- Institute of Cancer Research UK (Collaboration)
- Daresbury Laboratory (Collaboration)
Publications
Description | Accelerator Science and Technology Centre, STFC Daresbury Laboratory |
Organisation | Daresbury Laboratory |
Department | Accelerator Science |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Birmingham Cyclotron Facility, University of Birmingham |
Organisation | University of Birmingham |
Department | Birmingham Cyclotron Facility |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | CNRS/Institut Curie |
Organisation | Curie Institute Paris (Institut Curie) |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | CRUK Imperial Centre, Imperial College London |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Department | Cancer Research UK Imperial Centre |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
Organisation | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
Department | Central Laser Facility |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Centre for Cancer Research Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queens University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK |
Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
Department | Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Centre for Plasma Physics, Department of Physics, Queens University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK |
Organisation | Queen's University Belfast |
Department | Centre for Plasma Physics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Cockcroft Institute, Daresbury Laboratory, Sci-Tech Daresbury |
Organisation | Sci-Tech Daresbury |
Department | Cockcroft Institute |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Corerain Technologies |
Organisation | Corerain Technologies |
Country | China |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Department of Computing, Imperial College London |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Department | Department of Computing |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Science, University College London |
Organisation | University College London |
Department | Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Department of Oncology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
Organisation | Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
Department | Oncology |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde |
Organisation | University of Strathclyde |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Department of Physics, University of Liverpool |
Organisation | University of Liverpool |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Department of Physics, University of Surrey |
Organisation | University of Surrey |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial Academic Health Science Centre |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Division of Cancer Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Department | Division of Cancer Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Division of Cancer Sciences, The Christie Hospital, Manchester |
Organisation | The Christie Hospital |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
Organisation | Science and Technologies Facilities Council (STFC) |
Department | ISIS Neutron and Muon Source |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Imperial Patient and Public Involvement Group (IPPIG), Imperial College London |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton |
Organisation | Institute of Cancer Research UK |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Institute of Translational Medicine, Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine, University of Liverpool |
Organisation | University of Liverpool |
Department | Institute of Translational Medicine |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Ion Beam Centre, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey |
Organisation | University of Surrey |
Department | Ion Beam Centre |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Imperial College London |
Organisation | Imperial College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, Royal Holloway |
Organisation | Royal Holloway, University of London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | John Adams Institute for Accelerator Science, University of Oxford |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Leo Cancer Care, Broadview, Windmill Hill, Hailsham |
Organisation | Leo Cancer Care |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Maxeler Technologies Limited |
Organisation | Maxeler Technologies Inc |
Department | Maxeler Technologies |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | National Physical Laboratory, Teddington |
Organisation | National Physical Laboratory |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Oxford Institute of Radiation Oncology |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Department | CRUK/MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Particle Physics Department, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
Organisation | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory |
Department | Particle Physics Department |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Physics Department, Lancaster University |
Organisation | Lancaster University |
Department | Department of Physics |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Positron Imaging Centre, University of Birmingham |
Organisation | University of Birmingham |
Department | Positron Imaging Centre |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Radiation Physics and Radiobiology Department, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
Organisation | Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Birmingham |
Organisation | University of Birmingham |
Department | School of Physics and Astronomy |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre |
Organisation | The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | The Laser-hybrid Accelerator for Radiobiological Applications (LhARA) collaboration |
Organisation | Cascade Technologies |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | In a series of proposals Corerain Technologies have promised in-kind support with a significant value. |
Collaborator Contribution | Support for proposals to EPSRC and STFC. The software house proposed to collaborate with us in the development of realtime processing and control for novel accelerator systems used in radiobiological research with application to particle beam therapy. |
Impact | No substantive outcomes have yet been secured. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham |
Organisation | University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Co-development of the conceptual design of a novel, laser-driven compact, accelerator system for biomedical applications. |
Collaborator Contribution | The vision of the LhARA collaboration is to develop a laser-driven proton- and opn-beam source capable of driving a step change in capability in the delivery of beams for biological research and in clinical practice. The laser pulse that initiates the production of ions at LhARA may be triggered at a repetition rate of up to 10\,Hz. The time structure of the beam may therefore be varied to interrupt the chemical and biological pathways that determine the biological response to ionising radiation with 10\,ns to 40\,ns long proton or ion bunches repeated at intervals as small as 100\,ms. The technologies chosen to capture, transport, and accelerate the beam in LhARA have been made so that this unique capability is preserved. The LhARA beam may be used to deliver an almost uniform dose distribution over a circular area with a maximum diameter of between 1\,cm and 3\,cm. Alternatively the beam can be focused to a spot with diameter of $\sim 1$\,mm. Th ambition of the collaboration is to demonstrate in operation technologies that have the potential to be developed to make ``best in class'' treatments available to the many by reducing the footprint of future particle-beam therapy systems. The laser-hybrid approach will allow radiobiological studies and eventually radiotherapy to be carried out in completely new regimes, delivering a variety of ion species in a broad range of time structures and spatial configurations at instantaneous dose rates up to and potentially significantly beyond the current ultra-high dose-rate ``FLASH'' regime. |
Impact | The LhARA consortium is the multidisciplinary collaboration of clinical oncologists, medical and academic physicists, biologists, engineers, and industrialists. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Article in CERN Courier |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Outreach to scientific and technical community reached through the circulation of the CERN Courier. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://cerncourier.com/a/exploring-a-laser-hybrid-accelerator-for-radiotherapy/ |