Speaker
Description
Compared to classic proton therapy, proton minibeam radiation therapy (pMBT) further spares normal tissue. To fully study this potential with small animal experiments focused minibeams with a σ of 50 μm , a beam current of 1 nA and approx. 4 cm proton range (water) is needed. The MiniBEE located at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, is designed to fullfill all requirements of researchers for systematic studies on pMBT. The maximum beam energy of 68 MeV can be further reduced to approx. 35 MeV by a first degrader in vacuum after the cyclotron. A second degrader placed close before the target further reduces the energy, forming a spread-out Bragg peak in the target. Along the beamline, various slits shape the transverse beam profiles. A high magnetic field gradient triplet lens focuses the beam on the target while scanning magnets rasterscan it over the target. A small animal radiation research platform (SARRP) is used for positioning and imaging of animals, it can be supplemented by an optical microscope to study cells, tissue but also scintillation targets.
The Beamline can be used for magnetically focused but also collimated applications, together with therapy planning and a single field size of ~4 mm x 4 mm, applied using beam scanning.
The facility is planned to open in 2025 and can be used through scientific collaboration or pay by use.
For information or beamtime request please contact:
Prof. Dr. Judith Reindl, Judith.reindl@unibw.de, +49 89 6004 4443
Dr. Georgios Kourkafas, Georgios.kourkafas@helmholtz-berlin.de
