The BELLA PW laser proton beamline: a new platform for ultra-high dose rate radiobiological research

by Dr Antoine Snijders

Tuesday 27 Feb 2024, 12:00 → 13:00 US/Pacific

Auditorium (Building 50)

Link: https://youtu.be/V8C2RVG_Lsk?si=mWpFInpxNxIt1KIm

Abstract

Radiotherapy is the current standard of care for more than 50% of all cancer patients. Recently, the beneficial differential effects on tumor versus normal tissues using the delivery of single, high radiation doses of >10 Gy at ultra-high dose rates (UHDR), has received increasing attention and is called the FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH RT) effect. However, extensive radiobiological research with UHDR electrons, X-rays, protons or carbon ions has not yet completely identified the underlying mechanisms of action for FLASH RT. Accelerator capabilities at the BELLA LasernetUS node at LBNL were extended by adding a magnetic proton transport system to the newly commissioned iP2 beamline. This allowed us to deliver petawatt laser-driven (LD) proton pulses of 10 MeV energy to irradiate radiobiological samples in vivo at ultra-high instantaneous dose rate (UHIDR). We investigated the differential sparing of LD protons on healthy tissues in vivo by measuring acute skin damage and late radiation-induced fibrosis in murine ears after high dose radiation exposure. We will summarize our results to date. 

Bio
Dr. Antoine Snijders is the Department Head of BioEngineering & BioMedical Sciences in the Biological Systems and Engineering Division at LBNL. His research goals are to understand the complex interactions among genetic background, environmental exposures and the microbiome in determining disease risk.