An experimental study of focused very high energy electron beams for radiotherapy

Abstract Very high energy electron (VHEE) beams have been proposed as an alternative radiotherapy modality to megavoltage photons; they penetrate deeply without significant scattering in inhomogeneous tissue because of their relativistic inertia. However, the depth dose distribution a single, collimated VHEE beam is quasi-uniform, which can lead healthy being overexposed. This be largely overcome by focusing small spot. Here, we present experiments demonstrate means concentrating into volumetric elements inside target. We find good agreement between measured distributions and Monte Carlo simulations. Focused radiation could used precisely target tumours or hypoxic regions tumour, would enhance efficacy radiotherapy. The development new accelerator technologies may provide future compact systems for delivering these focused tumours, concept that also extended X-rays hadrons.