6 | 8 | This seminar will review the different applications of particle accelerators to the medical field, from cancer treatment with beams of accelerator-produced particles (photons, electrons, protons, ions and neutrons) to the generation of radioactive isotopes used in medical diagnostics, in cancer therapy and in the new domain of theragnostics. State of the art, potential, and accelerator challenges will be reviewed, with a particular focus on ion therapy of cancer where new initiatives are starting in Europe to define novel accelerator designs that will allow meeting the increasing demand for therapeutic procedures using particle beams. |