NEGATIVE ION SOURCE METHOD AND APPARATUS USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A CHARGED PARTICLE CANCER THERAPY SYSTEM
First Claim
1. An apparatus for injecting a charged particle beam into an accelerator of an irradiation device, said irradiation device irradiating a tumor during use, said apparatus comprising:
- a negative ion source, said negative ion source configured to produce negative ions in a negative ion beam path, said negative ion source comprising a magnetic field barrier across a gap separating a high energy plasma chamber from a low temperature plasma zone;
an ion beam focusing lens configured to focus the negative ions; and
a converting foil, said converting foil converting the negative ions into the charged particle beam.
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Abstract
The invention comprises a negative ion source method and apparatus used as part of an ion beam injection system, which is used in conjunction with multi-axis charged particle or proton beam radiation therapy of cancerous tumors. The negative ion source preferably includes an inlet port for injection of hydrogen gas into a high temperature plasma chamber. In one embodiment, the plasma chamber includes a magnetic material, which provides a magnetic field barrier between the high temperature plasma chamber and a low temperature plasma region on the opposite side of the magnetic field barrier. An extraction pulse is applied to a negative ion extraction electrode to pull the negative ion beam into a negative ion beam path, which proceeds through a first partial vacuum system, through an ion beam focusing system, into the tandem accelerator, and into a synchrotron.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus for injecting a charged particle beam into an accelerator of an irradiation device, said irradiation device irradiating a tumor during use, said apparatus comprising:
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a negative ion source, said negative ion source configured to produce negative ions in a negative ion beam path, said negative ion source comprising a magnetic field barrier across a gap separating a high energy plasma chamber from a low temperature plasma zone; an ion beam focusing lens configured to focus the negative ions; and a converting foil, said converting foil converting the negative ions into the charged particle beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for injecting a charged particle beam into an accelerator of an irradiation device, said irradiation device irradiating a tumor during use, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating negative ions in a negative ion source, said negative ion source comprising a magnetic field barrier separating a high energy plasma region from a low temperature plasma zone; extracting the negative ions from said negative ion source; focusing said negative ions using an ion beam focusing lens; and converting the negative ions into the charged particle beam with a converting foil. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for generating ions, said ions used in an irradiation device for treatment of a tumor during use, said apparatus comprising:
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a negative ion source, said negative ion source comprising; a first ion generation electrode at a first end of a high temperature plasma chamber in said negative ion source; a second ion generation electrode at a second end of said high temperature plasma chamber; means for generating a magnetic field barrier separating said high temperature plasma chamber from a low temperature plasma zone, wherein said magnetic barrier selectively passes elements of plasma in said high temperature plasma chamber to said low temperature plasma zone, wherein low energy electrons interact with atomic hydrogen to create hydrogen anions in said low temperature plasma zone; and an electrode configured to apply a high voltage pulse across said low temperature plasma zone to extract the hydrogen anions from said negative ion source as a negative ion beam. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for generating ions, said ions used in an irradiation device for treatment of a tumor during use, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a magnetic field barrier between a high temperature plasma region and a low temperature plasma zone in a negative ion source; and applying a high voltage pulse across the low temperature plasma zone, said pulse extracting the ions from said negative ion source. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification