The cyclotron laboratory and the RFQ accelerator in Bern
- Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics, Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP), University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland)
- Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics, Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP), University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland and Department of Physical Sciences, University Federico II, Via Cintia, I-60126 Napoli (Italy)
- SWAN Isotopen AG, Inselspital, CH-3010 Bern (Switzerland)
Two proton accelerators have been recently put in operation in Bern: an 18 MeV cyclotron and a 2 MeV RFQ linac. The commercial IBA 18/18 cyclotron, equipped with a specifically conceived 6 m long external beam line ending in a separate bunker, will provide beams for routine 18-F and other PET radioisotope production as well as for novel detector, radiation biophysics, radioprotection, radiochemistry and radiopharmacy developments. The accelerator is embedded into a complex building hosting two physics laboratories and four Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) laboratories. This project is the result of a successful collaboration between the Inselspital, the University of Bern and private investors, aiming at the constitution of a combined medical and research centre able to provide the most cutting-edge technologies in medical imaging and cancer radiation therapy. The cyclotron is complemented by the RFQ with the primary goals of elemental analysis via Particle Induced Gamma Emission (PIGE), and the detection of potentially dangerous materials with high nitrogen content using the Gamma-Resonant Nuclear Absorption (GRNA) technique. In this context, beam instrumentation devices have been developed, in particular an innovative beam profile monitor based on doped silica fibres and a setup for emittance measurements using the pepper-pot technique. On this basis, the establishment of a proton therapy centre on the campus of the Inselspital is in the phase of advanced study.
- OSTI ID:
- 22121664
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1530, Issue 1; Conference: ION BEAMS '12: International conference on multidisciplinary applications of nuclear physics with ion beams, Legnaro, Padova (Italy), 6-8 Jun 2012; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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