Download Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center

Realease Date 2009
Industrialized Turnkey Solutions
Ampegon has also entered into a cooperation contract
with Siemens Healthcare for special RF amplifiers
for the Siemens Particle Therapy Systems, which
are based on the system developed for HIT. Scope of
supply includes RF amplifier and a new digital low
level RF (D-LLRF) systems. Siemens is presently
building combined particle radiation cancer treatment centers in Marburg and Shanghai.
Ampegon LLRF Systems
Most precise digital regulation is key for the performance of an accelerator and essential for producing
the high-quality particle beams. Therefore Ampegon developed a digital LLRF system to replace
the formerly used analog equipment in order to increase and ensure highest reliability and long-term
precision. Digital LLRF systems accomplish field
regulation in RF cavities.
The systems also serve as the primary man machine
interface (MMI) between the operator and the RF system as a whole. Ampegon LLRF systems are based
on extremely reliable and professional hardware and
software design. Thanks to the modular design
approach the systems are flexible and extendable
and due to the uncomplicated system set-up, are
practically maintenance-free.
Features of the digital LLRF system for the Siemens
Healthcare cancer treatment centers include:
ampegon.com
• Integrated amplitude and phase controlling of each amplifier by means of IQ-vector modulation of RF output
• Integrated cavity tuning (ω0)
• Digital control boards placed in PXI system (3U)
• Fully manageable by remote control
• Stand-alone mode possible, i.e. single shot and repetitive pulses can be established locally
• One central digital LLRF system for three (or more) amplifiers
• Pure digitally processed control algorithms with configurable parameters running on a FPGA
The systems feature a flexible control interface for various system requirements like SMMS, EPICS, TINE etc.
Technical Specifications RF Amplifier Systems
200 kW pulsed (for RFQ Linac)
Output Power Pnom
1400 kW pulsed (for IH Linac)
4 kW solid state (for debuncher)
Frequency
216.8 MHz
Duty Cycle
0.5 %
Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center
Case Study
1400 kW pulsed RF amplifier system with integrated LLRF for Siemens Healthcare.
Contact
Ampegon AG
Spinnereistrasse 5 | CH-5300 Turgi, Switzerland
Tel. +41 58 710 44 00 | Fax +41 58 710 44 01
[email protected] | ampegon.com
Ampegon Antenna Systems GmbH
Carl-Benz-Strasse 6-8 | D-67105 Schifferstadt, Germany
Tel. +49 6235 9250 300 | Fax +49 6235 9250 330
[email protected] | ampegon.com
Ampegon | Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center
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Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center | Ampegon
Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center
Deep within the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center, special
amplifier systems from Ampegon are helping to cure tumors and
advance cancer therapy research
Spreading new Hope for Cancer Patients
Ampegon designs and delivers special RF amplifier
systems for use in the promising new cancer therapy
method using radiation based on particle acceleration.
One such center is the Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy
Center HIT; inaugurated in 2009 it is the first center
in Europe to treat patients with both heavy ion and
proton radiation. Ion beam radiation is an extremely
precise and biologically highly effective treatment. The
beam can be controlled to deliver the dose exactly to
the tumor and spare the surrounding healthy tissue.
This treatment method gives new hope to cancer patients whose tumor cannot be treated by surgery or by
traditional radiation therapy due to the fact that it is
technically impossible to reach the tumor with a high
enough radiation dose. Such tumors include those
which are very deep-seated, or which are extremely
resistant towards traditional radiation, or which are
surrounded by highly sensitive, healthy tissue which
is highly susceptible to radiation, such as optic nerves
or intestines.
for such complex and demanding research projects.
To assure adequate dimensioning of all components
and auxiliary equipment, all systems are based on
tolerance design. The result is very short MTBF
(mean-time-between-failures) and long component
lifetime. Ampegon amplifier systems exhibit a high
frequency stability, highest efficiency and availability.
Ampegon systems are esteemed for their MTTR (mean-time-to-repair) and very long component lifetime.
dose peak (Bragg Peak) after penetrating up to 30
centimeters into deeper-seated parts of the body.
Thus the beam can reach its target with pinpoint
precision and spare neighboring healthy tissue. The
exposure time is less than 5 minutes, the preparation time around 20 minutes. Treatment with heavy
ions is estimated with approximately 20 days, that of
protons, with 30. One course of radiation treatment
costs approximately Euro 20’000.
First Combined Particle Radiation Center in Europe
HIT is a German center for particle therapy of cancer
with protons and heavy ions and the first of its kind in
Europe. Once HIT has reached its capacity maximum,
some 1300 patients will be treated annually, whereby
the primary focus of the center will be on the interdisciplinary, clinical and experimental research of cancer
treatment with heavy ions and protons. With a planning phase of almost 15 years, a construction period
of 6 years, and a total construction cost of 119 million
Euro, HIT is one of the biggest medical research projects ever to be realized in Germany. Situated in Heidelberg on the premises of the University Clinic, HIT is
laid out on an area of 5.027 square meters, practically
the size of a football field. The building complex consists of three stories, two of which are underground.
The ion source, linear accelerator (Linac) and particle
accelerator (synchrotron) are integrated into one of
the underground buildings, situated under a grasscovered knoll. Two treatment rooms will be fed with
horizontal energy sources. In a third treatment room,
a heavy-ion gantry will rotate around the patients. This
is the first such rotating steel structure in the world.
With a diameter of 13 m and a weight of 670 tons, the
gantry can rotate the beam 360° around a patient, thus
enabling considerably improved radiation planning. An
estimated one third of the patients will profit from this
treatment.
As of 2009, there are only about 30 ion beam facilities worldwide where patients can be treated
with ion beams. The ceremonial opening of the HIT
of Heidelberg University Hospital on November 2,
2009, is ushering in a new era of cancer treatment
in Europe and bringing fresh hope for patients suffering from cancer. The first patient treatment took
place 15th November. The Ampegon systems performed to full satisfaction.
The ion beam originates in the accelerator area. The
ion source produces positively loaded ions. In the Linac, a long straight tube, the ions are accelerated to
more than a tenth of the speed of light. After that they
enter the roundabout circulation in the synchrotron,
where in the course of millions of circulations they are
further accelerated and steered by magnet fields to
reach 75 % the speed of light. Shortly before reaching
the treatment room, the ion beam is led through 2 magnets, through which it can be shifted horizontally or
vertically in order to achieve the optimal direction.
Ampegon Systems chosen for high Reliability
In 2003, the University of Heidelberg contracted Ampegon for the supply of high frequency amplifier systems
to provide the RF power for the Linac of the HIT. In
cooperation with GSI, Ampegon developed these special RF amplifier systems based on tetrodes. Scope of
supply included three RF amplifiers systems as well
as an RF amplitude and phase regulation system. The
system will be in operation 24 hours a day, 330 days a
year. 300 of these days are reserved for treatment and
30 for research. The availability and hence reliability of
the entire system is thus of primary importance.
Ampegon was selected due to its excellent track record in the field of special RF amplification systems
common HIT project. Preliminary scientific, technical
and clinical studies for the HIT were conducted in a
cooperation project of the Heidelberg Clinic for RadioOncology and Radiotherapy, the GSI Helmholtz Center
of Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, and the German
Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg in cooperation with the Rossendorf Research Center (FZR).
Since 1992, more than 400 patients with difficult to
treat bone, cartilage, or soft tissue tumors have been
treated in a pilot project at the GSI accelerator in
Darmstadt with success rates of 80 %. GSI is still the
technical partner of the Heidelberg University Hospital and has supervised the project implementation in
Heidelberg as well as in Pavia, Italy, where TERA has
built a center of excellence for carbon ions (CNAO)
using a system identical to the one in Heidelberg.
Ampegon Broadcast has supplied CNAO with identical RF amplifier systems.
From Design to Reality
GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research and Siemens AG were heavily involved in the realization of the
Patient treatment room in the rotatable gantry | The patient table rotates as well, enabling the beam to
reach the patient at any angle. (Image courtesy of HIT.)
The use of heavy ions opens up completely new horizons for cancer therapy. Thanks to their physical
and biological properties, these ions reach their
Technical Specifications RF Amplifier Systems
200 kW pulsed (for RFQ Linac)
Output Power Pnom
1400 kW pulsed (for IH Linac)
4 kW solid state (for debuncher)
Frequency
216.8 MHz
Duty Cycle
0.5 %
Ampegon | Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center
RF amplifier system during installation at HIT.
Intensity controlled raster scan method especially developed for ion beam radiation by scientists from GSI.
Heidelberg Ion-Beam Therapy Center | Ampegon