708
M. Dohlus et al.
11.2.6 Accelerator Suppliers
National Electrostatics Corp., Middleton, Wi, USA
High Voltage Engineering Europa B.V., Amersfoort, NL
Ion Beam Applications S.A., Louvain-la-Neuve, B
11.3 Accelerators in Medicine: Applications of Accelerators
and Storage Rings
U. Amaldi · G. Magrin
Electron and hadron accelerators are widely employed in the production of
radionuclides—used in diagnostic and brachytherapy—and in teletherapy i.e. in
the formation of radiation beams directed from outside the body towards tumours
and malformations. In this section these two topics are discussed in a historical
perspective by describing both, the status of the art and the challenges that
accelerator developers have to face today to meet the highest standards in nuclear
diagnostic and cancer therapy.
11.3.1 Accelerators and Radiopharmaceuticals
11.3.1.1 History
The years that followed the invention of cyclotron by Ernest Lawrence were very
prolific in defining what would be later known as nuclear medicine. In 1932,
Lawrence, Stand and Sloan were able to produce, with their new 27-in. cyclotron,
a proton beam of 4.8 MeV. In 1934 two important discoveries influenced the
future use of that accelerator, alpha-induced radioactivity by Frédéric Joliot and
Iréne Curie [44] and the neutron-induced radioactivity by Enrico Fermi [45]. Those
discoveries convinced Lawrence to fully employ its accelerated proton, deuteron,
neutron, and alpha particle beams for the production of artificial isotopes.
The medical exploitation of the newly radionuclides was clear in Ernest
Lawrence’s mind when in 1935 he called his brother John, a medical doctor
from Yale school of Medicine, to join him in Berkeley to study the use of the new
radioisotopes. Although the mainstream activity was nuclear research, a number
of cyclotron-produced radionuclides was used for health applications in studies of
physiology in animals and humans. The medical applications of radioisotope—
radiotracing, endotherapy, and diagnostic—were defined at that time.
Radionuclides have the same chemical and physiological characteristics of the
stable elements, so, when a radio-labeled organic compound is supplied to the
organism, it follows the normal metabolism. From the mid 1930s, radionuclides
M. Dohlus et al.
11.2.6 Accelerator Suppliers
National Electrostatics Corp., Middleton, Wi, USA
High Voltage Engineering Europa B.V., Amersfoort, NL
Ion Beam Applications S.A., Louvain-la-Neuve, B
11.3 Accelerators in Medicine: Applications of Accelerators
and Storage Rings
U. Amaldi · G. Magrin
Electron and hadron accelerators are widely employed in the production of
radionuclides—used in diagnostic and brachytherapy—and in teletherapy i.e. in
the formation of radiation beams directed from outside the body towards tumours
and malformations. In this section these two topics are discussed in a historical
perspective by describing both, the status of the art and the challenges that
accelerator developers have to face today to meet the highest standards in nuclear
diagnostic and cancer therapy.
11.3.1 Accelerators and Radiopharmaceuticals
11.3.1.1 History
The years that followed the invention of cyclotron by Ernest Lawrence were very
prolific in defining what would be later known as nuclear medicine. In 1932,
Lawrence, Stand and Sloan were able to produce, with their new 27-in. cyclotron,
a proton beam of 4.8 MeV. In 1934 two important discoveries influenced the
future use of that accelerator, alpha-induced radioactivity by Frédéric Joliot and
Iréne Curie [44] and the neutron-induced radioactivity by Enrico Fermi [45]. Those
discoveries convinced Lawrence to fully employ its accelerated proton, deuteron,
neutron, and alpha particle beams for the production of artificial isotopes.
The medical exploitation of the newly radionuclides was clear in Ernest
Lawrence’s mind when in 1935 he called his brother John, a medical doctor
from Yale school of Medicine, to join him in Berkeley to study the use of the new
radioisotopes. Although the mainstream activity was nuclear research, a number
of cyclotron-produced radionuclides was used for health applications in studies of
physiology in animals and humans. The medical applications of radioisotope—
radiotracing, endotherapy, and diagnostic—were defined at that time.
Radionuclides have the same chemical and physiological characteristics of the
stable elements, so, when a radio-labeled organic compound is supplied to the
organism, it follows the normal metabolism. From the mid 1930s, radionuclides