Delivery of High-Intensity Proton Beam for the Study of Flash-Effect in Radiotherapy

Abstract

Flash-therapy is a rapidly developing field of radiology that has the potential to revolutionize future cancer treatment techniques. The method involves delivery the therapeutic radiation dose to the tumor volume at an ultra-high dose rate in the beam, several orders of magnitude higher than that usually used in conventional radiotherapy. In this mode of irradiation, the degree of damage to normal tissues surrounding the tumor and falling under the influence of radiation decreases, at the same time, the effect on cancer cells remains at the same level, which preserves the prospect of local control of the tumor with a lower frequency of side effects.
 The paper presents the results on the delivery of a high-intensity proton beam with an energy of 660 MeV from the Phasotron of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, designed for radiobiological studies under flash therapy irradiation of cell cultures and small laboratory animals (mice, rats). In addition, the main design features and parameters of the created detectors for measuring the characteristics of this beam are presented.