Radio-frequency (RF) electrode for a cyclotron. The RF electrode includes a hollowed dee having first and second surfaces that oppose each other and define a gap therebetween. The hollowed dee is configured to be electrically controlled to direct a beam of charged particles through the gap and along an orbit plane of the cyclotron. The orbit plane extends parallel to the first and second surfaces through the gap. The RF electrode also includes a bridge structure that is coupled to and extends away from the hollowed dee. The bridge structure includes a side wall that defines an interior cavity of the bridge structure. The side wall has a particle opening therethrough that coincides with or is proximate to the orbit plane such that the particle opening receives neutral particles from an orbit of the charged particles.

Various emitters and emitter systems are disclosed. For instance, in various embodiments, an emitter can comprise a substrate, an insulator bonded to the substrate, a graphene layer bonded to the insulator, and a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact. The first electrical contact can be bonded over a first portion of the graphene layer, and the second electrical contact can be bonded over a second portion of the graphene layer. The graphene layer electrically couples the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact and is configured to receive the application of a pulsed input voltage between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact and to radiate radio frequency (RF) energy. An emitter system can comprise a plurality of emitters, each disposed on a single integrated circuit.

Various emitters and emitter systems are disclosed. For instance, in various embodiments, an emitter can comprise a substrate, an insulator bonded to the substrate, a graphene layer bonded to the insulator, and a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact. The first electrical contact can be bonded over a first portion of the graphene layer, and the second electrical contact can be bonded over a second portion of the graphene layer. The graphene layer electrically couples the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact and is configured to receive the application of a pulsed input voltage between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact and to radiate radio frequency (RF) energy. An emitter system can comprise a plurality of emitters, each disposed on a single integrated circuit.

The present disclosure relates to compact isochronous sector-focused cyclotrons having reduced dimensions and weight compared with state of the art cyclotrons of same energies. In one implementation, a cyclotron may include two pole magnets facing each other in a chamber defined by a yoke having base plates and flux return yokes forming a lateral wall of the chamber. The magnet poles may include between three and eight hill sectors alternating with a same number of valley sectors distributed about a central axis. The lip of the abyssal opening may be positioned at a distance from the corresponding valley peripheral edge. The flux return yoke may have a thickness in the portions facing valley sectors, such that the ratio of the product of the distance times the thickness to the square of the distance of the peripheral edge to the central axis is less than 5%.

The present disclosure relates to a magnet pole for an isochronous sector-focused cyclotron having hill and valley sectors alternatively distributed around a central axis, Z, each hill sector having an upper surface bounded by four edges: an upper peripheral edge, an upper central edge, a first and a second upper lateral edges, and a peripheral surface extending from the upper peripheral edge to a lower peripheral line. The upper peripheral edge of at least one hill sector may further include a concave portion with respect to the central axis defining a recess extending at least partially over a portion of the peripheral surface of the corresponding hill sector.

The present disclosure relates to a magnet pole for an isochronous sector-focused cyclotron having hill and valley sectors alternatively distributed around a central axis, Z, each hill sector having an upper surface bounded by four edges: an upper peripheral edge, an upper central edge, a first and a second upper lateral edges. The upper surface of at least one hill sector may further include: a recess extending over a length between a proximal end and a distal end along a longitudinal axis intersecting the upper peripheral edge and the upper central edge. The recess may be separate from the first and second upper lateral edges over at least 80% of its length, and a pole insert having a geometry fitting in the recess may be positioned in, and reversibly coupled to the recess.

The invention relates to a container (100, 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 906, 907, 908, 909, 910) for the production of radioisotopes by irradation of a precursor material formed by a one-piece metal casing, the wall of said casing including one thin portion (130) having a thickness of between 5 and 100 m, the remainder having a thickness greater than 100 m. The invention also relates to a method for obtaining the container and to a target assembly using same.

Radio-frequency (RF) electrode for a cyclotron. The RF electrode includes a hollowed dee having first and second surfaces that oppose each other and define a gap therebetween. The hollowed dee is configured to be electrically controlled to direct a beam of charged particles through the gap and along an orbit plane of the cyclotron. The orbit plane extends parallel to the first and second surfaces through the gap. The RF electrode also includes a bridge structure that is coupled to and extends away from the hollowed dee. The bridge structure includes a side wall that defines an interior cavity of the bridge structure. The side wall has a particle opening therethrough that coincides with or is proximate to the orbit plane such that the particle opening receives neutral particles from an orbit of the charged particles.

In one embodiment of the invention, a method for irradiating a target is disclosed. A proton beam is generated using a cyclotron. A first information is provided to an energy selection system. An energy level for the protons is selected using an energy selection system based on the first information. The first information comprises a depth of said target. The proton beam is routed from the cyclotron through a beam transfer line to a scanning system. A second information is provided to the scanning system. The second information comprises a pair of transversal coordinates. The proton beam is guided to a location on the target determined by the second information using a magnet structure. The target is irradiated with the protons.

The present disclosure relates to a particle therapy system for irradiating a target with a scanning beam technique. In one implementation, the system includes an irradiation planning device with a planning algorithm configured to associate a particle beam energy E(i) to each spot of the irradiation plan and organize the spots in a sequence of spots according to energy. The system may further include a control system configured for controlling in parallel, from spot to spot, a variation of an output energy of a beam generator, a variation of a magnetic field of one or more electromagnets of a beam transport system and a variation of a magnetic field of the scanning magnet.