Optimization of synchrotron based ion beam therapy facilities for treatment time reduction, options and the MedAustron development roadmap.

A faster treatment reduces the risk of intra-fraction movement of organs, offers a more comfortable treatment to the patient, allows to treat lesion of larger volumes in a reasonable time and most of all expands the capacity of the facility. This work presents possible machine upgrades for synchrotron based ion beam therapy centers to shorten the irradiation time. The expected delivery times for each scenario are simulated for the study case of proton beams of MedAustron.

Measurement of electron clouds in large accelerators by microwave dispersion.

Clouds of low energy electrons in the vacuum beam pipes of accelerators of positively charged particle beams present a serious limitation for operation at high currents. Furthermore, it is difficult to probe their density over substantial lengths of the beam pipe. We have developed a novel technique to directly measure the electron cloud density via the phase shift induced in a TE wave transmitted over a section of the accelerator and used it to measure the average electron cloud density over a 50 m section in the positron ring of the PEP-II collider at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.

[Bone mineral measurement in the newborn infant].

In order to achieve parameters to evaluate mineralization of premature infants, bone mineral content at the midshaft of the radius was measured in 173 normal newborns. Data were correlated with the following factors: gestational age, postnatal age, sex and weight at birth. In spite of the wide range of variation of individual values, there was a statistically significant correlation between gestational age, sex and BMC.