The Tuscany Health Ecosystem is fostering a coordinated innovation pipeline in radiotherapy, spanning fundamental research to high–technology readiness level (TRL) deployment. Core activities include advanced radiation source development including disruptive laser-driven sources, tailored for precision and ultra-high dose rate applications, dedicated studies on FLASH effect to elucidate...
Radiation oncology has benefited from the digital era by improving its performance in terms of irradiation precision and selectivity. This has enabled dose escalation to regions of interest (ROIs) and dose reduction to organs at risk (OARs), supported by the availability of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT). The introduction of proton beams, carbon ions (hadrons), and boron neutron...
Laser-driven particle acceleration represents an emerging and potentially transformative technology in radiation oncology. At the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), substantial advances over the past two years have led to improved beam stability, higher repetition rates, enhanced spectral control, and more reproducible delivery conditions. These developments have enabled, for the first time,...
Laser plasma electron accelerators can produce very high energy electron beams up to GeV level in <100 m2 size experimental rooms. This is possible since plasma can sustain 1000x stronger accelerating gradients than conventional radio-frequency linear accelerators. At ELI Beamlines user facility the L3-HAPLS laser has been used in the ELBA beamline to generate electron beams up to 500 MeV at...
Exposure to ionizing radiation presents one risk factor in human space flight. To protect astronauts on future long duration missions better, we have to address three scientific frontiers, namely (i) elucidation of the molecular damage mechanisms, (ii) identification of tissue specific responses and (iii) rationalizing our understanding of radioprotectant molecules. Similarly, predictive...
