Coutrakon George B
Department of Radiation Medicine, Loma Linda University Medical Center, 11234 Anderson Street, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA.
Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2007 Aug;6(4 Suppl):49-54. doi: 10.1177/15330346070060S408.
This paper focuses on current and future designs of medical hadron accelerators for treating cancers and other diseases. Presently, five vendors and several national laboratories have produced heavy-particle medical accelerators for accelerating nuclei from hydrogen (protons) up through carbon and oxygen. Particle energies are varied to control the beam penetration depth in the patient. As of the end of 2006, four hospitals and one clinic in the United States offer proton treatments; there are five more such facilities in Japan. In most cases, these facilities use accelerators designed explicitly for cancer treatments. The accelerator types are a combination of synchrotrons, cyclotrons, and linear accelerators; some carry advanced features such as respiration gating, intensity modulation, and rapid energy changes, which contribute to better dose conformity on the tumor when using heavy charged particles. Recent interest in carbon nuclei for cancer treatment has led some vendors to offer carbon-ion and proton capability in their accelerator systems, so that either ion can be used. These features are now being incorporated for medical accelerators in new facilities.
本文聚焦于用于治疗癌症和其他疾病的医用强子加速器的当前及未来设计。目前，五家供应商和几家国家实验室已生产出重粒子医用加速器，用于加速从氢（质子）到碳和氧的原子核。通过改变粒子能量来控制束流在患者体内的穿透深度。截至2006年底，美国有四家医院和一家诊所提供质子治疗；日本还有另外五家此类设施。在大多数情况下，这些设施使用专门为癌症治疗设计的加速器。加速器类型包括同步加速器、回旋加速器和直线加速器的组合；有些还具备诸如呼吸门控、强度调制和快速能量变化等先进功能，这些功能在使用重带电粒子时有助于在肿瘤上实现更好的剂量适形性。近期对用于癌症治疗的碳原子核的关注促使一些供应商在其加速器系统中提供碳离子和质子功能，以便可以使用任何一种离子。这些功能现在正被纳入新设施中的医用加速器。
