Speaker
Description
Laser-driven electron acceleration schemes can be easily and reliably used to accelerate electrons in the energy band between 20 MeV and 200 MeV, termed Very-High Energy (VHEE). Such radiation quality is regarded as a promising candidate for novel radiation therapy schemes, owing to a favourable depth-dose deposition profile and the possibility of reaching very-high dose-rates required by FLASH therapy schemes. Moreover, the compactness of the laser-driven technique, highly versatile, opens a wide range of possibilities for the study of peculiar irradiation temporal modalities.
The experimental application of a laser-driven VHEE source to systematic irradiation of in-vitro, ex-vivo and in-vivo biological targets will be presented. Monitoring of the laser-driven electron beam (charge, spectrum, stability) will be discussed with an eye on dosimetry and beam characterization best practices. Relaxation of spectral conditions enable reaching doses as high as 350 mGy/shot over 1cm target diameter, and a uniform penetration up to 5cm. The application to in vivo deep irradiation will be presented for the case of whole-thorax irradiation in mice. Passive beam expansion and shaping are used to conform the deposited dose to the target volume, while protecting at-risk organs. Perspectives of laser-driven sources as a tool for exploring the differential toxicity between conventional, FLASH and laser-driven irradiation modalities will be discussed.