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Compact medical cyclotrons are conceived for radioisotope production in a hospital-based environment. Their design in terms of field shape, stability and RF is aimed at obtaining high intensity (~150 microamps) beams at kinetic energies of the order of 20 MeV. To guarantee high performances, an optimization procedure during the commissioning phase is crucial as well as a regular preventive maintenance. Beyond radioisotope production, these accelerators can be the heart of a multi-disciplinary research facility once access to the beam area and beams down to the pA range are possible. The first requirement can be achieved by means of an external beam transport line, which leads the beam to a second bunker with independent access. Currents down to the pA range can be obtained by specific ion source, RF and magnetic field tuning procedures, opening the way to nuclear and detector physics, radiation protection, radiation bio-physics and ion beam analysis developments. On the basis of the experience gained with the cyclotron at the Bern University Hospital, the accelerator physics aspects of compact medical cyclotrons will be discussed together with their scientific potential.
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