John Adams' Memorial Lecture: Accelerator design issues in cancer therapy

by Philip J. Bryant (CERN)

Monday 5 Dec 2005, 14:15 → 15:30 Europe/Zurich

503/1-001 - Council Chamber (CERN)

Photon and electron beam therapies are the most widespread accelerator-based treatments for cancer.  Hadron therapy, which is taken here to exclude neutrons but include ions, has its roots in a paper by Robert R. Wilson in 1946.  His paper spoke mainly of protons and the Bragg peak behaviour, but it also had the astute foresight to mention carbon ions.  Pioneering work with many ion species was started at LBL in 1975 and continued for about fifteen years.  Today, there are a small number of working hadron centres and many project proposals.  CERN also played a role through EULIMA, PIMMS and ENLIGHT.  Taken all together, the field of cancer therapy now presents a bewildering range of particles, accelerators, extraction techniques and dose delivery mechanisms.  The present lecture will review advances in the understanding of the radio-biological effect of the different particles and in the design of accelerators and beam delivery systems with the aim of separating the better from the good.  Ultimately, it is the medical community that will choose between the various options, but it is the responsibility of the accelerator community to put the very best tools on offer.

Organiser(s): D. Brandt / CERN Accelerator School

Note: * Tea and coffee will be served after the lecture (~15h30) in the Salle des Pas Perdus.
PLEASE NOTE UNUSUAL PLACE!