New way of taming ions can improve future health care

advanced ion technology may in some instances be used to treat in any other case inoperable tumors, inclusive of mind tumors. The treatment entails a focused beam of ions that knock out the most cancers cells, without unfavorable the wholesome surrounding tissue. this is performed by way of the usage of a so-referred to as cyclotron accelerator. nowadays there are just a few facilities within the global that provide this type of ion remedy.

"handiest very few sufferers can receive the treatment these days because the sort of facility isn't even to be had in every ecu us of a. the usage of our approach to manipulate the ions, the same era will hopefully in the future be used in gadget that is compact, inexpensive, and smooth to apply," says professor Mattias Marklund, Head of the division of Theoretical Physics at Chalmers college of technology and one of three researchers behind the invention.

In just a short time he and his colleagues Felix Mackenroth and Arkady Gonoskov advanced a unique technique, known as "Chirped-status-Wave Acceleration," that could be a paradigm shift. The researchers' work is primarily based on a particle accelerator in which the ions are accelerated via the usage of a laser, in evaluation to standard accelerators that use electric powered fields to boost up ions.

"We knew that a laser may want to lure electrons but did not know the way to flow the electrons in order that they may drag the ions with them. We found an fashionable strategy to this puzzle through letting the laser's wavelength vary continuously, in such a way that the ions had been extended," says Arkady Gonoskov, postdoctoral researcher in physics.

thus far there had been just a few ways to boost up ions using lasers, and none of them could control the ions in an organized and green way.

"It turned into greater like using a sledgehammer. With our technique we will capture, stabilize and organize huge numbers of ions with awesome precision with out using a number of strength. that is a small step closer to the ultimate aim of treating cancer tumors in a manner that provides substantial benefit to society. but we're nevertheless far from the ultimate purpose," says Felix Mackenroth, postdoctoral researcher in physics.

up to now, the method has best been examined with the assist of superior laptop simulations, however experiments are planned in cooperation with Lund college.

The studies was conducted inside the framework of the Pliona challenge funded by using the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation. Umeå college is also collaborating within the assignment.

more approximately: Ion acceleration the usage of lasers

The researchers within the assignment use a laser to offer the ions the right power, in place of using traditional particle accelerators. They send a laser beam that hits a thin foil. while the foil is hit through the laser pulse the atoms ionize and the fabric is converted to a plasma made of charged debris. some electrons are launched and extended away. the electric voltage created among the displaced electrons and the superb ions drags the ions out of the fabric and the technique gives them with excessive strength.