Applications of particle accelerators in medicine.

There are nearly 20,000 particle accelerators in operation worldwide, about half of them employed for biomedical uses. This paper focuses on some recent advances in the two main medical domains where accelerators find their use, radionuclide production and radiation therapy. The paper first discusses the use of high-energy electron and proton accelerators for the potential, future production of (99)Mo, which is presently provided by fission reactors. Next, it reviews the rationale for the use of protons and carbon ions in cancer therapy, discussing the requirements imposed on accelerator technology and looking at some recent developments.