The radiotherapy clinical trials projects at the ESRF: Technical aspects

The radiotherapy clinical trials projects, both aiming at treating aggressive brain tumors, require several major modifications and new constructions at the ESRF ID17 Biomedical beamline. The application of the Stereotactic Synchrotron Radiation Therapy (SSRT) technique mainly necessitates an upgrade of the existing patient positioning system, which was formerly used for the angiography program. It will allow for accurate positioning, translation and rotation of the patient during the treatment. For the Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT) clinical trials project, a new white beam hutch will be constructed to accommodate a dedicated patient positioning system. Consequently, the existing control hutches and the related installations will also be completely refurbished. Furthermore, the foreseen installation of a second X-ray source, which will allow doubling the currently available photon flux at high energies, requires a redesign of most optical components to handle the increased power and power densities. Starting from the current ID17 Biomedical beamline layout, the paper will present an update of the different modification/construction projects, including the general organization and planning.