Energy degrader optimization for medical beam lines

This paper describes the optimization of a variable energy degrader design for the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute (MPRI) (The Indiana University Midwest Proton Radiation Institute, in: Proceedings of the 2001 Particle Accelerator Conference, PAC-2001, Chicago, 2002, p. 645). To optimize the energy degrader design we investigate the choice of an optimal material for the degrader, the beam emittance growth in the degrader, and the matching of the degraded beam with the acceptance of a medical beam line.