Modern proton treatment needs big particle accelerators, which has professionals examining alternative accelerator ideas, such as laser systems to accelerate protons. The method is significantly more complicated than X-ray therapy as it needs fancy accelerator centers to produce the quick protons and carry them to the client.” We have been working on the job for 15 years, however so far, the protons hadnt chosen up enough energy for irradiation,” Beyreuther reports. The criteria had actually been enhanced to the point that the HZDR team was able to launch an important series of experiments: the first-ever, regulated irradiation of growths in mice with laser-accelerated protons. Recommendation: “Tumor irradiation in mice with a laser-accelerated proton beam” by F. Kroll, F.-E.
Customized laser flashes
” The approach is based upon a high-power laser to create strong and extremely short light pulses, which are fired at a thin plastic or metal foil,” discusses HZDR physicist Dr. Florian Kroll. The strength of these flashes knocks swathes of electrons out of the foil, developing a strong electrical field that can bundle protons into pulses and accelerate them to high energies. Fascinatingly, the scale of this process is tiny: The acceleration course is merely a few micrometers long.
” We have been working on the job for 15 years, however so far, the protons had not gotten enough energy for irradiation,” Beyreuther reports. “Also, the pulse strength was too variable, so we couldnt make sure we were delivering the right dosage.” But over the past couple of years, researchers finally attained important enhancements, in specific thanks to a much better understanding of the interaction between the laser flashes and the foil. “Above all, the precise shape of the laser flashes is especially important,” Kroll describes. “We can now customize them to create proton pulses that have enough energy and are also steady enough.”
New research requirements
The parameters had actually been enhanced to the point that the HZDR team was able to introduce an important series of experiments: the first-ever, regulated irradiation of growths in mice with laser-accelerated protons. The experiments were carried out in cooperation with professionals from Dresden University Hospital at the OncoRay– National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology and benchmarked with comparative experiments at the standard proton treatment center.
Another special function of laser-accelerated proton pulses is their massive strength. While in standard proton treatment, the radiation dose is administered in a span of a couple of minutes, the laser-based process might take place within a millionth of a second.
Reference: “Tumor irradiation in mice with a laser-accelerated proton beam” by F. Kroll, F.-E. Brack, C. Bernert, S. Bock, E. Bodenstein, K. Brüchner, T. Cowan, L. Gaus, R. Gebhardt, U. Helbig, L. Karsch, T. Kluge, S. Kraft, M. Krause, E. Lessmann, U. Masood, S. Meister, J. Metzkes-Ng, A. Nossula, J. Pawelke, J. Pietzsch, T. Püschel, M. Reimold, M. Rehwald, C. Richter, H.-P. Schlenvoigt, U. Schramm, M.E.P. Umlandt, T. Ziegler, K. Zeil and E. Beyreuther, 14 March 2022, Nature Physics.DOI: 10.1038/ s41567-022-01520-3.
A research study team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has successfully tested the irradiation of growths with laser protons for the first time. Credit: HZDR/ Juniks
Irradiation with fast protons is a more efficient and less invasive cancer treatment than X-rays. Modern-day proton treatment needs large particle accelerators, which has experts investigating alternative accelerator principles, such as laser systems to speed up protons. Such systems are deployed in preclinical research studies to pave the method for ideal radiation therapy. A research study team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has now successfully checked irradiation with laser protons on animals for the first time, as the group reports in the journal Nature Physics.
Radiation therapy is one of the main cancer treatment approaches. It generally leverages strong, focused X-ray light. Protons– the nuclei of hydrogen atoms– sped up to high energies and bundled into little, exactly targetable bunches are an option. They can penetrate deep into the tissue where they deposit the majority of their energy in the growth, ruining the cancer while leaving the surrounding tissue largely undamaged. This makes the approach both more effective and less intrusive than X-ray therapy. “The technique is particularly suitable for irradiating tumors at the base of the skull, in the brain, and in the main anxious system,” discusses HZDR scientist Dr. Elke Beyreuther. “It is also used in pediatric cancer clients to decrease possible long-term results.”
The technique is significantly more complex than X-ray therapy as it requires intricate accelerator centers to generate the quick protons and transport them to the patient. Laser-based proton accelerators might make a definitive contribution here.