Equipment for the HIMAC cancer therapy and irradiation system

The Heavy-Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) cancer therapy and irradiation system must control the heavy-ion beam so that the direction, target size and dose of the applied radiation match the values suggested by the therapy planning equipment. The article describes the method used to convert data from the therapy planning equipment to actual equipment-control commands. It reports on the beam-line equipment layout, basic operations and detailed specifications required to achieve sophisticated three-dimensional control of therapy effects. (author)