
Medical Cyclotron Used for Diagnostic or Therapy
Fan Mingwu
Strategic Study of CAE ›› 2000, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (12) : 9-15.
Medical Cyclotron Used for Diagnostic or Therapy
Fan Mingwu
Cyclotron operated within a hospital to deliver radiation to produce short life radioactive isotopes for diagnostic purpose is used in many hospitals. But cyclotron used for proton therapy is just at beginning. Proton beam therapy is a technologically advanced approach since it achieves precise radiation dose distribution. As the depth of penetration is a function of its energy, the point of energy release of the proton can be very precisely determined. The path of the proton beam is linear and causes very little secondary lateral scatter. Healthy tissues upstream from the tumor receive only a small dose and those located around the tumor and behind receive virtually none. Thus proton beam therapy is the most effective method. On the other hand, the cyclotron must be reliable, and the beam must be stable to ensure patient´s safety since the proton beam is used directly. Efficiency of beam delivery to the treatment rooms, raster scanning techniques to ensure the correct control of beam energy, intensity, and position stability, rapid and precise flexibility in changing beam parameter are also essential for satisfying clinical needs. The design efforts for developing a hsopital-based medical therapy cyclotron including the clinical beam delivery systems and integrated control system are really complex, and are less well developed than patients real need. A conception scheme for the purpose is proposed.
cyclotron / positron emission tomography / short life radioisotope / proton beam therapy
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