discovered_01_2015 - Shedding Light on Darkness

discovered 01.15 FOCUS WWW.HZDR.DE ‘For me, the research results are pieces of a puzzle that make up a larger picture’, Josefine Metzkes says about her latest publication. She is a doctoral candidate at the HZDR Institute of Radiation Physics. While not a huge breakthrough, the results are another small step towards her goal, which is a lofty one: using laser-particle accelerators for medicine, in particular cancer therapy. Smaller facilities, lower cost Protons are already being used to radiate tumors. In contrast to X-rays, their energy can be deposited in the tumor tissue with much greater precision, preserving the surrounding tissue. Since 2014, Dresden can also boast a proton-beam therapy center – the UniversitätsProtonenTherapie Dresden (UPTD) at the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus. Protons are generated in a cyclotron, accelerated to 60 percent of the speed of light and channeled to the patient via beamlines that are several meters long. The individual components are huge and weigh tons. Add to this, walls that are several meters thick, which are necessary to shield the accelerator and the beam guidance on its way to the patient. Scientists like Josefine Metzkes want to reduce the bulk of such a facility. ‘In theory, laser-driven accelerators can be placed really close to the patient, you only have to shield the light and the therapy room itself, which is much easier to do,’ the young researcher explains. The facilities would be much smaller and potentially cheaper. A lot of basic research remains to be done before this can become a reality. Dresden-Rossendorf does have an extremely powerful laser, the ultra-short pulsed high-power laser DRACO, but its energy levels fall far short of what is required for medical applications. // HZDR doctoral candidate Josefine Metzkes pursues an ambitious goal as she conducts her research in the field of laser-particle acceleration: her mission is to develop compact ion accelerators for radiation therapy. _TEXT . Sara Schmiedel SHEDDING LIGHT ON DARKNESS LASER ACCELERATOR: Josefine Metzkes wants to know how exactly light accelerates charged particles. Photo: André Forner

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