title: Laser-accelerated particles: Investigations towards applications in radiotherapy
creator: Fuchs, Thomas
subject: ddc-530
subject: 530 Physics
description: Laser-plasma accelerators provide a new method to create energetic particle beams. Due to theircompactness and cost-efficiency the potential of an application to radiotherapy is studied in this work. First, the scaling of the proton energy with laser and target parameters was analyzed. The results imply that future laser systems might generate clinically relevant energies. Furthermore, options of controlling the typically Maxwellian proton energy spectrum were investigated. The approach of a modification by electric fields created at a second target with a second laser yielded insufficient results. However double-layer targets (a proton layer initially attached to a substrate) exhibit a “quasi-monoenergetic” part in the spectrum. Based on the studies of the effects of various target parameters on the energy spectrum a comparison of prostate treatment plans was performed. The increased plan quality for protons compared to photon beams varied with the assumed energy spread. The second part analyzes the dosimetric properties of laser-accelerated electrons. For 250 MeV electrons the depth dose curve yields a broad maximum at depths > 20 cm. Additionally the penumbra of treatment fields is smaller compared to the one of photons at depths < 10 cm. These properties led to slightly improved treatment plans compared to IMRT photon plans. 
date: 2007
type: Dissertation
type: info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
type: NonPeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
identifier: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserverhttps://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/7452/1/diss_final.pdf
identifier: DOI:10.11588/heidok.00007452
identifier: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-opus-74527
identifier:   Fuchs, Thomas  (2007) Laser-accelerated particles: Investigations towards applications in radiotherapy.  [Dissertation]     
relation: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/7452/
rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/help/license_urhg.html
language: eng