Phase II year
1989
(last award dollars: 1990)
The long-range goal of this program is the development and commercialization of a proton therapy delivery system that will lead to a substantial advancement over existing methods of cancer treatment with protons. The most important tasks of the innovative development required to accomplish this goal are associated with the raster scanning system with 3-D contouring capability and an isocentric delivery system, or alternative, to allow significant flexibility in the treatment direction. The Phase I effort completed the conceptual design and cost estimate for components of a beam delivery system including raster scanning magnets, small-aperture bending magnets, modular achromatic bending magnet systems, a variable-angle vertical magnet system, and permanent magnet transport systems of wide momentum acceptance. The design of these components was matched to the high-beam quality of the proton accelerator being developed for this application. The Phase II program will construct and provide demonstration, with low-energy beams, of the raster scanning system and rotatable 900 achromatic bending system.
Anticipated Results:There is strong worldwide interest in the application of protons for radiation treatment of cancer. If such facilities can be shown to be economically viable, their use will be very widespread.National Cancer Institute