The Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Center HIT: The Accelerator - Now And Then

The Heidelberg Ion Beam Therapy Centre (HIT) is the first dedicated proton, carbon and helium ion radiotherapy facility in Europe. It uses the full three dimensional intensity controlled raster scanning dose delivery technique of pencil beams. Cancer therapy with carbon ion and proton (and advancing with 4He) beams has been carried out at HIT since 2009. More than 7500 patients have been treated since then.

Emerging from the pilot project at GSI, the commissioning of the accelerator with beam was successfully completed for three fixed beam lines in 2008. The accelerator was handed over to the HIT GmbH by GSI on the 30th of April 2008. Since then HIT is responsible for the operating and further improvement of the accelerator.

This talk briefly outlines some of these remarkable accelerator developments and projects for a further improvement of ion beam radiotherapy at HIT.