High Performance Laser For Targeted Irradiation Of Cancer
Clinical appliance still dreams of the future
By Marietta Gross – Scoop Media, Austria
Jena, Germany -- A new way to fight cancer: For the first time worldwide an international team of physicists has succeeded to create
a directed ray of protons using a high performance laser. The protons have the same speed and can be used for a targeted
irradiation of cancer. This principle has never before been demonstrated with a laser, explained team leader Roland
Sauerbrey from the University of Jena. He expects eight to ten years to pass by until this experiment can be clinically
applied.
By means of proton rays cancer in sensitive regions of the body (for example brain tumors) can be treated more directly
and with fewer side effects in contrast to conventional X-ray-radiation. According to the scientists in Jena the charged
particles are accelerated to an extremely high speed: up to 50 per cent of the speed of light. When the ray impinges the
tumor it is heavily decelerated so that the protons release their energy directly into the tumor and destroy it.
So far the proton therapy is only seldomly applied due to the necessary complex acceleration equipment. In Munich
Europe’s first clinical proton therapy centre is currently under construction. Further centres could follow, that also
use high performance lasers.
The experiment of Jena managed to create a directed proton ray of 1.3 MegaVolts. Therefore a titanium foil of only five
millionth of a metre was cannonaded with a pressure of ten billion Bar, whereas the laser produced plasma and protons.
The titanium foil was also coated with a certain synthetic. This plastic coated foil makes the target area visible and
is lighted by another smaller laser.
Still, there will be a long way to go until the research results can be used in medicine, because for eye tumors an
energy of 70 MegaVolt is necessary – to treat brain tumors an energy of 250 MegaVolt is required, said Sauerbrey. To
enhance the amount of energy the University of Jena will soon introduce a Petawatt-Laser.
"This device would allow performances as strong as if the light of the sun that hits the earth focussing onto a hair,"
thinks Sauerbrey. According to the scientist the proton therapy with laser will revolutionise cancer treatment because
one or two shots would be enough for a patient’s treatment, he says.
The results of this experiment were published in the magazine "Nature".
ENDS