Technical design of hadron therapy facilities

Radiation therapy with hadron beams now has a 40-year track record at many accelerator laboratories around the world, essentially all of these originally physics-research oriented. The great promise shown for treating cancer has led the medical community to seek dedicated accelerator facilities in a hospital setting, where more rapid progress can be made in clinical research. This paper will discuss accelerator and beam characteristics relevant to hadron therapy, particularly as applied to hospital-based facilities. A survey of currently-operating and planned hadron therapy facilities will be given, with particular emphasis on Loma Linda (the first dedicated proton facility in a hospital) and HIMAC (the first dedicated heavy-ion medical facility)