FLASH$\mathrm{{\ell}ab@}$PITZ: New R&D Platform with Unique Capabilities for Electron FLASH and VHEE Radiation Therapy and Radiation Biology under Preparation at PITZ

Physica medica 104, 174 - 187 (2022). doi:10.1016/j.ejmp.2022.10.026
At the Photo Injector Test facility at DESY in Zeuthen (PITZ), an R&D platform for electron FLASH and very high energy electron radiation therapy and radiation biology is being prepared FLASH$\mathrm{{\ell}ab@}$PITZ). The beam parameters available at PITZ are worldwide unique. They are based on experiences from 20 + years of developing high brightness beam sources and an ultra-intensive THz light source demonstrator for ps scale electron bunches with up to 5 nC bunch charge at MHz repetition rate in bunch trains of up to 1 ms length, currently 22 MeV (upgrade to 250 MeV planned). Individual bunches can provide peak dose rates up to 10$^{14}$ Gy/s, and 10 Gy can be delivered within picoseconds. Upon demand, each bunch of the bunch train can be guided to a different transverse location, so that either a “painting” with micro beams (comparable to pencil beam scanning in proton therapy) or a cumulative increase of absorbed dose, using a wide beam distribution, can be realized at the tumor. Full tumor treatment can hence be completed within 1 ms, mitigating organ movement issues. With extremely flexible beam manipulation capabilities, FLASHlab@PITZ will cover the current parameter range of successfully demonstrated FLASH effects and extend the parameter range towards yet unexploited short treatment times and high dose rates. A summary of the plans for FLASH$\mathrm{{\ell}ab@}$PITZ and the status of its realization will be presented.
Published by Elsevier, Amsterdam