Protons against cancer: New research beamline for innovative radiotherapies

Together with the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, the HZB has set up a new beamline for preclinical research. It will enable experiments on biological samples on innovative radiation therapies with protons.

The proton accelerator at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has been used for about 25 years to combat certain types of eye tumours. So far, over 4800 people have benefited from proton eye tumour therapy, which is carried out in collaboration with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

Now, the proton accelerator at HZB also offers the option of conducting preclinical research: A mini-beamline for preclinical experiments (Minibee) has been set up for this purpose together with the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich. The HZB's Proton Therapy Department has built the beam guidance and control system for the minibeams. The University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, with Prof. Judith Reindl from the Institute of Applied Physics and Measurement Technology and the Section of Biomedical Radiation Physics, installed a platform for image-guided irradiation of biological samples. This will enable joint experiments on radiobiology and innovative radiation therapy in the future.

‘At Minibee, we can use medical research to investigate how changes in parameters and settings of the proton beam affect the treatment,’ says Judith Reindl. Among other things, Minibee is designed to generate ultrashort proton flashes (FLASH therapy) or needle-fine radiation (beamlets). ‘Our aim is to develop new methods that effectively destroy tumours while providing even better protection for healthy tissue,’ says Prof. Dr. Andrea Denker, head of the Department of Proton Therapy at HZB.