No abstract available

[en] The Batho Biomedical Facility is dedicated to an investigation of the efficacy of pion radiation for the treatment of malignant disease. During the period 1974-1976 it progressed from a completely 'paper' project to an operational beam with support systems, and many of the necessary physical characterizations of the beam were completed. Development of much of the equipment and procedures for the residual beam measurements were completed, particularly for dosimetric measurements of the beam. Studies of ways to control the beam characteristics in order to deliver specified dose distributions to tumour volumes were at an early stage. Initial in vitro biological measurements of cell survival as a function of depth were made. (LL)

[en] Dynamic spot scanning with pions of patients with pelvic and abdominal malignancy has demonstrated to date that treatments are well tolerated, that early response rates are favorable, and that morbidity, which is volume and dose related, has been within clinically acceptable limits. The search for optimum treatment factors proceeds

[en] The parameters calculated in part 1 of this series devoted to the application of the general RBE theory to negative pions, represent the characteristics of radiation energy deposition that enter into the theory. These implicitly include the customary microdosimetric quantities, too, which now are calculated explicitly and compared to experimental data. Good agreement is found with respect to single-event spectra and their mean values for different components and interaction modes and at different positions in the pion beam. These results support the physical side of the approach in general and, in particular, the simplifications and approximations used to treat pions in this way. (author)

[en] The RBE theory is based on general microdosimetric concepts and can, therefore, be applied to any kind of ionizing radiation. Application to pions is made feasible by calculating the inherent physical parameters of the theory, which depend on characteristics of radiation energy deposition, for different positions in and components of a pion beam. Emphasis is placed on rationalizing and simplifying the physical fundamentals to start with (radiation field composition, modes and products of interaction) and presenting the final results in a comprehensive and practicable form. (author)

No abstract available

[en] The NA62 experiment at CERN SPS aims to collect O(100)K2+→π⁺νν events in two years of data taking with a S/B ratio of about 10:1. The Branching Ratio (BR) for this decay is ∼10^-11 and can be predicted with minimal theoretical uncertainties, making it a sensitive probe for New Physics. The guiding principles for the construction of the NA62 detectors are an accurate particle ID, precise timing and excellent veto efficiency. In particular, the veto inefficiency for photons from K⁺→π⁺π⁰ decays should be smaller than 10^-8. The photon veto system of NA62 consists of three detectors covering different angular regions: Large Angle Veto (LAV), Liquid Krypton calorimeter (LKr) and Small Angle Veto (SAV). The status of the project and present preliminary results from the recent tests will be reviewed.

No abstract available

No abstract available

[en] The clinical trial on the radiation susceptibility of cancers to various types of particle beam has been under active study during the past 10 years. The effects of pions, heavy ions, protons and neutrons have been investigated. After the start of the pion program at LAMPF, a study was initiated by the US National Cancer Institute to develop the design and to test certain components of the accelerators exclusively used for cancer therapy in hospital environment. This program named ''Pion Generator for Medical Irradiation'' (PIGMI) was completed recently. Significant advance was made in the accelerator technology, and it was indicated that the economical and reliable dedicated machines can be produced. Moreover, the design can be made so as to produce any particle beam that may eventually be desired. The pion machine would be the longest (highest energy) using accelerated protons on a target to produce pion beam. For the production of neutrons, protons or heavy ions, the same components as those used for an initial pion machine would be used with suitable modification. The application to radiotherapy and radioisotopes, the PIGMI technology, PIGMI pion radiotherapy facility and PIGMI radioisotope production machine are described. (Kako, I.)