Radiological Properties of Beams of High-Energy Protons

Abstract

As predicted by Wilson in 1946 (1) and first experimentally demonstrated by Tobias et al. a few years later (2), the physical properties of high-energy protons make them highly useful for precise irradiation of regions in the depth of the body. With the pioneer work on radiation hypophysectomy by the Berkeley group (3) as a chief source of inspiration, it was decided to investigate the potentialities of a 187-MeV proton beam from the Uppsala synchrocyclotron in biological and medical research. Particular attention has been paid to the use of this radiation in the treatment of tumors (4, 5) and in functional neurosurgery where the radiation is now being used both clinically (6) and in physiological experimentation (7, 8) as a substitute for classical surgical instruments. Although this work presents many aspects of both fundamental and practical interest, we will here restrict ourselves to a general physical and radiobiological characterization of the high-energy proton radiation.