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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Phys.
Sec. Medical Physics and Imaging
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2024.1496850
This article is part of the Research Topic Challenges in VHEE Radiotherapy View all 6 articles

Potential of CLARA Test Facility for VHEE Radiotherapy Research

Provisionally accepted
Deepa Angal-Kalinin Deepa Angal-Kalinin 1,2*Stewart Boogert Stewart Boogert 2,3James Kevin Jones James Kevin Jones 1,2
  • 1 Daresbury Laboratory, Science & Technologies Facilities Council, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, Warrington, United Kingdom
  • 2 The Cockcroft Institute, Sci-Tech Daresbury, United Kingdom
  • 3 The University of Manchester, Manchester, England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The Compact Linear Accelerator for Research and Applications (CLARA) is a test facility at STFC Daresbury Laboratory capable of delivering ultra-bright electron bunches of up to 250 MeV beam energy. A new beam line has been designed to maximise exploitation of the CLARA facility in a variety of scientific fields, including novel acceleration and new modalities of radiotherapy. In this paper we present the specification and design of this beam line to explore the possibilities of pursuing R&D in VHEE (Very High Energy Electron) radiotherapy and VHEE with FLASH radiotherapy. We describe the beam line design, including the flexibility of the beam optics to focus the beam in a range of locations, and present results from preliminary start-to-end simulations using Monte-Carlo tracking codes. We will highlight advantages of this beam line including rapid access to the shielded experimental hutch and the possibilities for installation of different experimental setups in two dedicated chambers. The beam line is equipped with focusing magnets, extensive diagnostics, and allows for the possibility of in-air installation within the experimental beam line. The facility will allow an experimental programme towards addressing many outstanding issues related to this new radiotherapy modality. We will also describe the available flexibility in beam parameters delivering both conventional dose rates and those reaching into the FLASH regime. The possibility of both living cells and treatment planning studies are anticipated to be conducted at this world-class facility.

    Keywords: ultra-bright electron source, Beam energy, Bunch charge, Repetition rate, shielded hutch, VHEE, flash, dose rate

    Received: 15 Sep 2024; Accepted: 12 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Angal-Kalinin, Boogert and Jones. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Deepa Angal-Kalinin, Daresbury Laboratory, Science & Technologies Facilities Council, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, Warrington, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.