Author: Nowak, S.
Paper Title Page
THPVA074 Upgrade Study of the MedAustron Ion Beam Center 4619
 
  • A. De Franco, T.T. Böhlen, F. Farinon, G. Kowarik, M. Kronberger, C. Kurfürst, S. Nowak, F. Osmić, M.T.F. Pivi, C. Schmitzer, P. Urschütz, A. Wastl
    EBG MedAustron, Wr. Neustadt, Austria
 
  Funding: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk'odowska-Curie grant agreement No 675265.
MedAustron is a synchrotron-based ion beam therapy center allowing the treatment of tumours with protons and other light ion species, in particular C6+. Commissioning of the first irradiation room for clinical therapy with proton beams has been completed and in parallel to the commissioning of the remaining two irradiation rooms, a facility upgrade study has started. Our analysis includes considerations for the possibility to introduce different extraction mechanisms, new diagnostic tools, optimization of the accelerator cycle time, ripples mitigation for more accurate active beam stabilization and other improvements for hardware reliability. We present the concept, the main benefits, also in terms of treatment time reduction, and the challenges for implementation. Each option will be investigated including a detailed assessment on resources demand, impact and risk analysis.
 
DOI • reference for this paper ※ https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2017-THPVA074  
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THPVA075 Beam Measurements in the MedAustron Synchrotron With Slow Extraction and Off-Momentum Operation 4623
 
  • C. Kurfürst, A. De Franco, F. Farinon, M. Kronberger, S. Myalski, S. Nowak, F. Osmić, M.T.F. Pivi, C. Schmitzer, P. Urschütz, A. Wastl
    EBG MedAustron, Wr. Neustadt, Austria
  • A. Garonna
    TERA, Novara, Italy
  • T.K.D. Kulenkampff
    CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
  • L.C. Penescu
    Abstract Landscapes, Montpellier, France
 
  The MedAustron Ion Therapy Center is a medical accelerator facility for hadron therapy cancer treatment using protons and carbon ions. The facility features 4 irradiation rooms, three of which are dedicated to clinical operation and a fourth one dedicated to non-clinical research. The latter was handed over to researchers in autumn 2016. A 7 MeV/n injector feeds a 77 m circumference synchrotron which provides beams for treatment and research. Routine verification measurements in the synchrotron involve beam emittance, dispersion as well as tunes and chromaticity. The horizontal and vertical emittance are measured using scraping plates and a direct current transformer. The dispersion function in the ring is determined by sweeping the synchrotron RF frequency while measuring the beam position in the shoe-box pick-ups. The horizontal and vertical betatron tune and chromaticity are measured with Direct Diode Detection electronics, developed at CERN, while changing the beam position with the RF radial loop. The beam is kept off-momentum, thus in dispersive regions the closed orbit is largely offset from the central orbit. Methods for beam measurements in the synchrotron are presented.  
DOI • reference for this paper ※ https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2017-THPVA075  
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THPVA076 Overview and Status of the MedAustron Ion Therapy Center Accelerator 4627
 
  • M.T.F. Pivi, A. De Franco, F. Farinon, M. Kronberger, C. Kurfürst, S. Myalski, S. Nowak, F. Osmić, C. Schmitzer, P. Urschütz, A. Wastl
    EBG MedAustron, Wr. Neustadt, Austria
  • T.K.D. Kulenkampff
    CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
  • L.C. Penescu
    Abstract Landscapes, Montpellier, France
 
  The synchrotron-based MedAustron accelerator in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, has seen the first clinical beam and has been certified as a medical accelerator in December 2016. This represented a major milestone for the facility whose original design originated more than a decade ago and construction started four years ago. The accelerator is designed to deliver clinical proton beams 60-253 MeV and carbon ions 120-400 MeV/u to three ion therapy irradiation rooms (IRs), including a room with a proton Gantry. Beams up to 800 MeV will be provided to a fourth room dedicated to non-clinical research. Presently, proton beams are delivered to the horizontal beam lines of three irradiation rooms. In parallel, commissioning of the accelerator with Carbon ions and the installation of the Gantry beam line are ongoing. At MedAustron, a third-order resonance extraction method is used to extract particles from the synchrotron in a slow controlled process over a spill time of 0.1-10 seconds to facilitate the measurement and control of the delivered radiation dose during clinical treatments. The main characteristics of the accelerator and the results obtained during the commissioning are presented.  
DOI • reference for this paper ※ https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2017-THPVA076  
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THPVA078 The Beam Quality Assurance of the MedAustron Particle Therapy Accelerator 4634
 
  • L.C. Penescu
    Abstract Landscapes, Montpellier, France
  • A. De Franco, F. Farinon, M. Kronberger, C. Kurfürst, S. Myalski, S. Nowak, F. Osmić, M.T.F. Pivi, C. Schmitzer, P. Urschütz, A. Wastl
    EBG MedAustron, Wr. Neustadt, Austria
  • T.K.D. Kulenkampff
    CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
 
  The delivery of clinical beams for patient treatment at the MedAustron Ion Therapy Center requires extensive accelerator performance verifications, which are performed in several steps. In first instance, the key parameters of the beam delivered to the irradiation rooms (beam position, spot size, energy and intensity) are verified via measurements performed with beam diagnostic devices distributed along the accelerator. The second verification step consists in testing the full functionality of the therapy accelerator, including the medical frontend: scanning magnets performance, intensity monitoring and safety features. The final verification step is the quality assurance (QA) done by the medical department. An extended set of reference measurements assures the fast identification of the faulty components in case of a performance deviation, and the totality of the accumulated data allows in-depth analysis of the accelerator performance. We present here the trends and correlations observed during the first verification step for the most important parameters, as well as the lessons learned through all the implementation stages of the beam quality assurance.  
DOI • reference for this paper ※ https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2017-THPVA078  
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