Longitudinal Localized Kick Driven Fast Extraction Method and Rapid Cycling Synchrotron Design for 3D PBS Proton FLASH Delivery

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel rapid cycling synchrotron design with a longitudinal localized kick driven fast extraction system for efficient 3D PBS proton FLASH therapy, achieving shorter delivery times and high dose accuracy.

Contribution

It presents a new extraction method and RCS design that enable faster 3D PBS proton FLASH delivery with precise dose control and minimal beam loss.

Findings

Able to deliver $2 imes10^{10}$ particles satisfying dose accuracy requirements.

Beam loss at the septum is kept below 1%.

The proposed system reduces delivery time compared to existing solutions.

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a rapid cycling synchrotron (RCS) featuring a longitudinal localized kick driven fast extraction system for three-dimensional (3D) pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton FLASH delivery. The extraction method is designed to accommodate a novel scanning scheme that addresses the stringent requirement for substantially shorter delivery time compared to current solutions, where the scanning layer is parallel to the proton beam direction. In this method, the kicker pulse waveform is applied selectively to specific longitudinal segments of the proton bunch. For each scanning spot, the functional region of the kicker along the longitudinal direction is dynamically adjusted based on real-time beam longitudinal line density measured by a beam current monitor. The corresponding region-determination algorithm is provided. We analyze the spot dose accuracy and the beam loss at the septum, indentifying increased particle longitudinal line density will reduce spot dose accuracy and increase beam loss. A total number of particles of $2\times10^{10}$ can satisfy the requirements of spot dose accuracy and the beam loss due to the septum is less than 1%. The extraction system comprises a stripline kicker, an electric septum (ESe), and a magnetic septum (MSe), imposing specific requirements on the RCS lattice design. The RCS is carefully designed to meet these constraints, and the parameters of the extraction elements are detailed. By integrating a novel scanning scheme with a specially designed RCS and fast extraction method, this work demonstrates the feasibility of achieving 3D PBS proton FLASH delivery.