Ion source development and radiobiology applications within the LIBRA project
2011
In view of their properties, laser-driven ion beams have the potential to be employed in innovative applications in the
scientific, technological and medical areas. Among these, a particularly high-profile application is particle therapy for
cancer treatment, which however requires significant improvements from current performances of laser-driven
accelerators. The focus of current research in this field is on developing suitable strategies enabling laser-accelerated
ions to match these requirements, while exploiting some of the unique features of a laser-driven process. LIBRA is a
UK-wide consortium, aiming to address these issues, and develop laser-driven ion sources suitable for applicative
purposes, with a particular focus on biomedical applications. We will report on the activities of the consortium aimed to
optimizing the properties of the beams, by developing and employing advanced targetry and by exploring novel
acceleration regimes enabling production of beams with reduced energy spread. Employing the TARANIS Terawatt
laser at Queen's University, we have initiated a campaign investigating the effects of proton irradiation of biological
samples at extreme dose rates (> 10 9 Gy/s).
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