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Laue lens to focus an X‐ray beam for radiation therapy
Author(s) -
Paternò Gianfranco,
Marziani Michele,
Camattari Riccardo,
Bellucci Valerio,
Mazzolari Andrea,
Gambaccini Mauro,
Guidi Vincenzo
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s1600576716000716
Subject(s) - lens (geology) , optics , focal length , beam (structure) , physics , diffraction , radiation , focus (optics) , x ray , electrostatic lens , photon , materials science
A Laue lens is an optical component composed of a set of crystals that produce a convergent beam exploiting X‐ray diffraction in transmission geometry. Employment of a system formed by a properly designed Laue lens coupled with an X‐ray unit to selectively irradiate tumours is proposed. A convergent beam leads to a depth dose profile with a pronounced peak at the focal depth, which may result in a high precision of the dose delivery. Using a custom‐made Monte Carlo code and the GAMOS code, we carried out a design study to determine the geometry and the optimal features of the crystals composing the lens. As an application, a Laue lens capable of focusing a 80 keV beam 50 cm downstream of the lens has been designed. The lens is composed of an ensemble of Si crystals with curved diffracting planes. The lens produces a focal spot of 2 mm enclosing 7.64 × 10 6 photons for an electron charge of 1 mC impinging on the surface of the X‐ray tube anode. The combination of these important figures of merit makes the proposed system suitable for irradiating both sub‐cm and larger tumour masses efficiently. A dose of 2 Gy can be delivered to a small tumour in a few seconds, sparing at the same time the surrounding tissues.