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Verdu-Andres, S., Amaldi, U., & Faus-Golfe, A. (2013). CABOTO, a high-gradient linac for hadrontherapy. J. Radiat. Res., 54, 155–161.
Abstract: The field of hadrontherapy has grown rapidly in recent years. At present the therapeutic beam is provided by a cyclotron or a synchrotron, but neither cyclotrons nor synchrotrons present the best performances for hadrontherapy. The new generation of accelerators for hadrontherapy should allow fast active energy modulation and have a high repetition rate, so that moving organs can be appropriately treated in a reasonable time. In addition, a reduction of the dimensions and cost of the accelerators for hadrontherapy would make the acquisition and operation of a hadrontherapy facility more affordable, which would translate into great benefits for the potential hadrontherapy patients. The 'cyclinac', an accelerator concept that combines a cyclotron with a high-frequency linear accelerator (linac), is a fast-cycling machine specifically conceived to allow for fast active energy modulation. The present paper focuses on CABOTO (CArbon BOoster for Therapy in Oncology), a compact, efficient high-frequency linac that can accelerate C6+ ions and H-2 molecules from 150-410 MeV/u in similar to 24 m. The paper presents the latest design of CABOTO and discusses its performances.
Keywords: hadrontherapy; high-gradient linac; cyclinac; carbon ion therapy; multipainting
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Oliver, S., Vijande, J., Tejedor-Aguilar, N., Miro, R., Rovira-Escutia, J. J., Ballester, F., et al. (2023). Monte Carlo flattening filter design to high energy intraoperative electron beam homogenization. Radiat. Phys. Chem., 212, 111102–6pp.
Abstract: Intraoperative radiotherapy using mobile linear accelerators is used for a wide variety of malignancies. However, when large fields are used in combination with high energies, a deterioration of the flatness dose profile is measured with respect to smaller fields and lower energies. Indeed, for the LIAC HWL of Sordina, this deterioration is observed for the 12 MeV beam combined with 10 cm (or larger) diameter applicator. Aimed to solve this problem, a flattening filter has been designed and validated evaluating the feasibility of its usage at the upper part of the applicator. The design of the filter was based on Monte Carlo simulations because of its accuracy in modeling components of clinical devices, among other purposes. The LIAC 10 cm diameter applicator was modeled and simulated independently by two different research groups using two different MC codes, reproducing the heterogeneity of the 12 MeV energy beam. Then, an iterative process of filter design was carried out. Finally, the MC designed conical filter with the optimal size and height to obtain the desired flattened beam was built in-house using a 3D printer. During the experimental validation of the applicator-filter, percentage depth dose, beam profiles, absolute and peripheral dose measurements were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the filter addition in the applicator. These measurements conclude that the beam has been flattened, from 5.9% with the standard configuration to 1.6% for the configuration with the filter, without significant increase of the peripheral dose. Consequently, the new filter-applicator LIAC configuration can be used also in a conventional surgery room. A reduction of 16% of the output dose and a reduction of 1.1 mm in the D50 of the percentage depth dose was measured with respect to the original configuration. This work is a proof-of-concept that demonstrates that it is possible to add a filter able to flatten the beam delivered by the Sordina LIAC HWL. Future studies will focus on more refined technical solutions fully compatible with the integrity of the applicator, including its sterilization, to be safely introduced in the clinical practice.
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Olivares Herrador, J., Latina, A., Aksoy, A., Fuster Martinez, N., Gimeno, B., & Esperante, D. (2024). Implementation of the beam-loading effect in the tracking code RF-track based on a power-diffusive model. Front. Physics, 12, 1348042–11pp.
Abstract: The need to achieve high energies in particle accelerators has led to the development of new accelerator technologies, resulting in higher beam intensities and more compact devices with stronger accelerating fields. In such scenarios, beam-loading effects occur, and intensity-dependent gradient reduction affects the accelerated beam as a consequence of its interaction with the surrounding cavity. In this study, a power-diffusive partial differential equation is derived to account for this effect. Its numerical resolution has been implemented in the tracking code RF-Track, allowing the simulation of apparatuses where transient beam loading plays an important role. Finally, measurements of this effect have been carried out in the CERN Linear Electron Accelerator for Research (CLEAR) facility at CERN, finding good agreement with the RF-Track simulations.
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Millar, W. L. et al, & Bañon Caballero, D. (2023). High-Power Test of Two Prototype X-Band Accelerating Structures Based on SwissFEL Fabrication Technology. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 70(1), 1–19.
Abstract: This article presents the design, construction, and high-power test of two $X$ -band radio frequency (RF) accelerating structures built as part of a collaboration between CERN and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) for the compact linear collider (CLIC) study. The structures are a modified “tuning-free ” variant of an existing CERN design and were assembled using Swiss free electron laser (SwissFEL) production methods. The purpose of the study is two-fold. The first objective is to validate the RF properties and high-power performance of the tuning-free, vacuum brazed PSI technology. The second objective is to study the structures' high-gradient behavior to provide insight into the breakdown and conditioning phenomena as they apply to high-field devices in general. Low-power RF measurements showed that the structure field profiles were close to the design values, and both structures were conditioned to accelerating gradients in excess of 100 MV/m in CERN's high-gradient test facility. Measurements performed during the second structure test suggest that the breakdown rate (BDR) scales strongly with the accelerating gradient, with the best fit being a power law relation with an exponent of 31.14. In both cases, the test results indicate that stable, high-gradient operation is possible with tuning-free, vacuum brazed structures of this kind.
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Martinez-Reviriego, P., Esperante, D., Grudiev, A., Gimeno, B., Blanch, C., Gonzalez-Iglesias, D., et al. (2024). Dielectric assist accelerating structures for compact linear accelerators of low energy particles in hadrontherapy treatments. Front. Physics, 12, 1345237–12pp.
Abstract: Dielectric Assist Accelerating (DAA) structures based on ultralow-loss ceramic are being studied as an alternative to conventional disk-loaded copper cavities. This accelerating structure consists of dielectric disks with irises arranged periodically in metallic structures working under the TM02-pi mode. In this paper, the numerical design of an S-band DAA structure for low beta particles, such as protons or carbon ions used for Hadrontherapy treatments, is shown. Four dielectric materials with different permittivity and loss tangent are studied as well as different particle velocities. Through optimization, a design that concentrates most of the RF power in the vacuum space near the beam axis is obtained, leading to a significant reduction of power loss on the metallic walls. This allows to fabricate cavities with an extremely high quality factor, over 100,000, and shunt impedance over 300 M omega/m at room temperature. During the numerical study, the design optimization has been improved by adjusting some of the cell parameters in order to both increase the shunt impedance and reduce the peak electric field in certain locations of the cavity, which can lead to instabilities in its normal functioning.
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