Technical features and experimental characterization of the IORT-1 system, a new IORT dedicated accelerator

In the last years there has been an increasing interest on IORT (Intraoperative Radiation Therapy), also because of the development of dedicated accelerators. This technique represents a very effective oncological treatment consisting in delivering a single high dose on a tumour bed soon after surgery resection. The main advantage of IORT technique, in addition to the possibility to avoid additional radio-treatments after surgery intervention, is to be referred to the improved tumor local control: the technique allows the focusing of a high single dose only on diseased tissue, avoiding to irradiate healthy tissues and preventing tumor recurrence in surrounding area. An important pioneer work was done by ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment) that conceived in collaboration with the national industry since early ‘90 s the first mobile machines able to be used directly in the surgery room. Recently a new generation IORT dedicated system named IORT-1, based on a compact, low stray radiation linac with variable energy in a range 4–12 MeV has been built in the framework of the ENEA “IORT project” funded by the Italian Ministry of Research (MIUR). In the following system, recently installed in the hospital of the “Azienda Ospedaliera di Cosenza” in Southern Italy, is described and the results of the dosimetric measurements are shown.