High Reliability, Modular Radiotherapy Treatment Linac for cancer care in Developing Countries

高可靠性、模块化放射治疗直线加速器用于发展中国家的癌症护理

• 批准号: ST/T002484/1
• 负责人: Graeme Burt
• 金额: $ 17.86万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FT002484%2F1
• 关键词: Reliability; Modular; Radiotherapy; Treatment; Linac

Currently Africa has less than 10% of the required capacity to deliver radiotherapy to cancer patients. The participants in this project are working with UK and global collaborators, such as CERN and the International Cancer Expert Corps (ICEC), to develop medical linac solutions in challenging environments in Africa. The key factors to address are the lifetime, service and repair of components in the linac of the radiotherapy system. This project aims to address these factors by making changes to the design in addition to implement the modular design approach.During a previous project we investigated the use of RF pulse modulated gridded guns to inject bunches of electron beams into the RF structure to increase capture. The results of the project demonstrated that it's possible to provide almost 100% capture and deliver the beam with a very narrow energy spread (typical radiotherapy systems are only able to capture 50% of the beam). However recent studies have suggested the use of the grid reduces the cathode lifetime by a factor of three. The studies also demonstrated that the linac efficiency can be improved by operating first cell of linac at lower gradient enabling 90% capture, with only 25% of electrons in the low energy tail using convenient DC pulse modulated guns. We believe that this effect is due to velocity bunching and request funds to further study this to attempt to reach 100% capture with no electrons in the tail. Such an approach could allow very long lifetimes with little maintenance. Modular design will improve the capability to repair when the system does fail.

目前，非洲为癌症患者提供放射治疗的能力还不到所需能力的 10%。该项目的参与者正在与英国和全球合作者（例如 CERN 和国际癌症专家团 (ICEC)）合作，在非洲充满挑战的环境中开发医用直线加速器解决方案。需要解决的关键因素是放射治疗系统直线加速器中组件的使用寿命、服务和维修。该项目旨在除了实施模块化设计方法之外，还通过对设计进行更改来解决这些因素。在之前的项目中，我们研究了使用射频脉冲调制网格枪将电子束束注入射频结构以增加捕获。该项目的结果表明，可以提供几乎 100% 的捕获并以非常窄的能量分布传送光束（典型的放射治疗系统只能捕获 50% 的光束）。然而，最近的研究表明，栅极的使用会将阴极寿命缩短三倍。研究还表明，通过在较低梯度下运行直线加速器的第一个单元，可以提高直线加速器效率，从而实现 90% 的捕获，使用方便的直流脉冲调制枪，低能尾部中只有 25% 的电子。我们认为这种效应是由于速度聚束造成的，并请求资金进一步研究这一问题，以尝试在尾部没有电子的情况下达到 100% 捕获率。这种方法可以实现很长的使用寿命，并且几乎不需要维护。模块化设计将提高系统发生故障时的修复能力。

项目成果

Pushing the capture limit of thermionic gun linacs

突破热电子枪直线加速器的捕获极限

• DOI: http://dx.10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.24.080401
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
• 影响因子: 1.7
• 作者: Setiniyaz S

Surveying the Challenges to Improve Linear Accelerator-based Radiation Therapy in Africa: a Unique Collaborative Platform of All 28 African Countries Offering Such Treatment.

调查非洲改善直线加速器放射治疗的挑战：提供此类治疗的所有 28 个非洲国家的独特合作平台。

• DOI: http://dx.10.1016/j.clon.2021.05.008
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Clinical oncology (Royal College of Radiologists (Great Britain))
• 作者: Ige TA