Browsing by Author "Welsh, G. H."

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    Focused very high-energy electron beams as a novel radiotherapy modality for producing high-dose volumetric elements
    (Nature, 2019) Kokurewicz, K.; Brunetti, E.; Welsh, G. H.; Wiggins, S. M.; Boyd, M.; Sorensen, A.; Chalmers, A. J.; Schettino, G.; Subiel, A.; DesRosiers, C.; Jaroszynski, D. A.; Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine
    The increased inertia of very high-energy electrons (VHEEs) due to relativistic effects reduces scattering and enables irradiation of deep-seated tumours. However, entrance and exit doses are high for collimated or diverging beams. Here, we perform a study based on Monte Carlo simulations of focused VHEE beams in a water phantom, showing that dose can be concentrated into a small, well-defined volumetric element, which can be shaped or scanned to treat deep-seated tumours. The dose to surrounding tissue is distributed over a larger volume, which reduces peak surface and exit doses for a single beam by more than one order of magnitude compared with a collimated beam.
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    Laser-plasma generated very high energy electrons (VHEEs) in radiotherapy
    (SPIE, 2017-05) Kokurewicz, Karolina; Welsh, G. H.; Brunetti, E.; Wiggins, S. Mark; Boyd, M.; Sorensen, A.; Chalmers, A.; Schettino, G.; Subiel, Anna; DesRosiers, Colleen; Jaroszynski, Dino A.; Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine
    As an alternative modality to conventional radiotherapy, electrons with energies above 50 MeV penetrate deeply into tissue, where the dose can be absorbed within a tumour volume with a relatively small penumbra. We investigate the physical properties of VHEEs and review the state-of-the-art in treatment planning and dosimetry. We discuss the advantages of using a laser wake eld accelerator (LWFA) and present the characteristic features of the electron bunch produced by the LWFA and compare them with that from a conventional linear accelerator.