The feasibility is presented of setting-up an experimental facility at CERN, to be made available to European institutes, for research in radiobiology and dosimetry with light-ion beams, with minimum impact on CERN main activities. The possibility is first discussed of injecting and decelerating protons rather than antiprotons in the AD, providing beams with kinetic energies in the range 5–300 MeV. Proton beams were never decelerated in the AD in this energy range and this will require machine studies. The acceleration and extraction of 12C6+ ions is also in principle possible, but it will need a detailed study. A study of the production of carbon ions requiring a new ion source or development work on the present source is needed. A study will then be needed on the accelerator chain, Linac3, LEIR, PS and AD, to accelerate the carbon beam to the required energy range. Other possibilities involve providing carbon ions from LEIR or from the PS to an experimental facility in the East Area. A CERN involvement with hadron-therapy could be based on a three-stage scenario, short, medium and long term: 1) in a first phase (3 years) provide 100–300 MeV protons from the AD, offering beam time for the experiments in the range one to two months per year; 2) at the same time, carry out a detailed feasibility study for providing 100–400 MeV/u 12C6+ beams from either the PS or the AD, from the fourth year onwards; 3) assess the feasibility to set-up a dedicated experimental facility served by the AD – once the antiproton program has been terminated – to provide light ion beams (alpha particles to carbon or oxygen) from a few MeV/u to about 400 MeV/u. The intent of this talk is to stimulate discussion on the potential interest of setting up a European collaboration to fund the project.
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Dr. Marco Silari graduated in physics in 1982 and obtained a PhD in medical physics in 1985 at the University of Milano. In 1983 he worked in the Health Physics department of the main hospital in Brescia. From 1984 to 1995 he held a research position with the Italian National Research Council in Milano. He spent the first two years of this period as visiting scientist at the MRC (Medical Research Council) Cyclotron Unit at the Hammersmith Hospital in London (UK), where he worked on the installation of a 40 MeV proton medical cyclotron. From 1987 to 1991 Dr. Silari carried out research work on applied nuclear and radiation physics. From 1991 to 1995 he worked within the Hadrontherapy Project led by Prof. Ugo Amaldi, where he was project leader of the National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO), which is now close to start operation in Pavia, near Milano. In this framework he was part-time Scientific Associate at CERN from September 1994 to October 1995. He is staff member at CERN since 1996, presently senior physicist. He has worked on radiation protection around the SPS, PS and LEP, and was responsible for radiation protection of LEP decommissioning. He has been involved with radiation protection of the LHC experiments and radiation studies for the future CERN accelerators. Throughout the years he has maintained a keen interest in Medical Physics and he continues teaching at the PhD School of Medical Physics in Milano.
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Dr
Manjit Dosanjh
(CERN)
Dr
Stephan Maury
(CERN)
Dr
Tommy Eriksson
(CERN)
Prof.
Ugo Amaldi
(TERA Foundation)
