Laser‐IORT: a laser‐driven source of relativistic electrons suitable for Intra‐Operative Radiation Therapy of tumors

In a recent experiment [1] a high efficiency regime of stable electron acceleration to kinetic energies ranging from 10 to 40 MeV has been achieved. The main parameters of the electron bunches are comparable with those of bunches provided by commercial Radio‐Frequency based Linacs currently used in Hospitals for Intra‐Operative Radiation Therapy (IORT). IORT is an emerging technique applied in operating theaters during the surgical treatment of tumors. Performances and structure of a potential laser‐driven Hospital accelerator are compared in detail with the ones of several commercial devices. A number of possible advantages of the laser based technique are also discussed.