Development of a Novel Compact Particle Therapy Facility With Laser Driven Ion Beams via Gantry Systems Based on Pulsed Magnets

Purpose/Objective(s)
The advancement in laser particle acceleration has made Laser-based Ion Beam Therapy (LIBT) an attractive alternative to existing Ion Beam Therapy (IBT) facilities as it has a great potential to reduce size and cost. Ultra-intense laser pulses interact with thin targets and accelerates intense ion bunches on μm scale. Unlike conventional beams, laser-driven ion beams are characterized by short pulses of intense particle flux with peak dose rates exceeding conventional values by 8-9 orders of magnitude, low repetition rate, broad energy spectrum and large divergence. The presented work is an ongoing joint multidisciplinary translational research project of several institutions aiming to establish LIBT.

Materials/Methods
In addition to laser particle accelerator development, LIBT poses new challenges. Conventional solutions cannot be applied directly as LIBT demands full characterization of radiobiological effects, development of new beam monitoring and dosimetry, a treatment planning system (TPS) for broad energy beams and an optimized gantry with energy selection system. Laser-based technology has been established for cell and small animal irradiation using a fixed beamline and is being utilized for systematic radiobiological studies. For translation to patient irradiation highly compact 360° isocentric proton and carbon gantry systems are designed based on light-weight iron-less pulsed magnets. A dedicated 3D TPS is being developed. Moreover, increasing the laser power to petawatt level is needed to achieve therapeutic ion energies.

Results
Radiobiologically no overall difference is observed for laser-driven ultra-high dose rates compared to conventional IBT beams. Our double achromatic pulsed gantry systems are ∼2.5 times smaller than conventional IBT gantries. For the gantry realization, key components have been designed and developed. A pulsed solenoid as particle capturing and focusing device was successfully tested. A novel 12 Tesla compact iron-less pulsed 50° sector magnet was developed. In addition, a pulsed high acceptance quadrupole with 230 T/m gradient has been designed and is being realized for tests. Our 3D TPS can be used to explore dose delivery and treatment planning strategies for LIBT.

Conclusions
The 3D TPS combined with our compact gantry provide a solution for LIBT. The realization and tests of pulsed gantry magnets are being continued. A new conventional proton therapy facility is under commissioning and is additionally equipped with a petawatt laser laboratory and an experimental bunker for further LIBT development toward clinical applicability with the conventional proton beam as reference.

Acknowledgment
This project was supported by German BMBF grant 03Z1N511 and DFG cluster of excellence MAP.