The Laser-hybrid Accelerator for Radiobiological Applications

Lead Research Organisation: University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Physics

Abstract

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Description Accelerator Science and Technology Centre, STFC Daresbury Laboratory 
Organisation Daresbury Laboratory
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 Birmingham Cyclotron Facility, University of Birmingham 
Organisation University of Birmingham
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 National Center for Scientific Research (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS)
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 Central Laser Facility, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 
Organisation Rutherford Appleton 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 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
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 School of Mathematics and 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 Article 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/