Radiotherapy

The linear accelerator

Introduction

The late 19th century discovery of X-rays led to revolution in medical science that would culminate in the medical advancements we have today The capability of X-rays to penetrate the human skin became a very exciting adventure to most scientists at the time they were being initially explored . The excitement was however short-lived because soon after , it was discovered that X-ray penetrations carried potential health risks . Consequently , focus started shifting to the safety of the rays with the formation of various standard committees around the world

The health scare did not however dampen the interest that the scientists had in X-rays as more studies and advancements continued to be made in the field

With time , radiotherapy technology has improved , and this has led to it finding more applications because it has resulted in better control of the rays produced . Consequently , application of radiotherapy has gained more significance , the most telling evidence of this being the emergence of medical physics as a profession in the mid 20th century . Although X-rays remain the most prominent in medical radiotherapy , other forms such as use of proton therapy are starting to gain prominence as well

On the technology front , there are two technologies of particle acceleration used in radiotherapy . The two technologies are linear and circular acceleration technologies . The linear technology commonly referred to as Linac technology is the more popular and established of the two . The concept of linear technology was the first to be used in the acceleration...