Communications Physics (Feb 2021)

An experimental study of focused very high energy electron beams for radiotherapy

  • Karolina Kokurewicz,
  • Enrico Brunetti,
  • Alessandro Curcio,
  • Davide Gamba,
  • Luca Garolfi,
  • Antonio Gilardi,
  • Eugenio Senes,
  • Kyrre Ness Sjobak,
  • Wilfrid Farabolini,
  • Roberto Corsini,
  • Dino Anthony Jaroszynski

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-021-00536-0
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

Read online

Very high energy electrons (VHEE) penetrate deeply in tissues and can provide an alternative to photon irradiation for tumour treatment. Using VHEE beams at CERN Linear Electron Accelerator for Research (CLEAR) focused into a water phantom, the authors demonstrate on-axis dose enhancement at a depth of 5–6 cm, proving that such beams can produce dose concentration to small volume elements, hence limiting the effect on adjacent healthy tissues if used for radiotherapy.