INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF NEURAL NETS «EDUARDO R. CAIANIELLO»

Hadron therapy is a rapidly growing field. Today, there are dozens of centres and half a dozen commercial suppliers. However, there is no consensus on which accelerators and gantries are most suitable. There is little understanding of the desires of radiation oncologists, and there is no consensus on the advantages and disadvantages of the various machines and facilities. Physicians should present their experience in treating various tumours and discuss the characteristics necessary for effective therapy, and they should present the status and improvements of photon therapy. Hadron therapy consists of cyclotrons, cyclotrons followed by linac synchrotrons, and non-scalar FFAG. In each case, the basics should be presented, the pros and cons outlined, the currently available (“off the shelf”) machines presented, and future developments discussed. The same approach is needed for portals and the characteristics of a complete system. Approximately one day should be devoted to presentations by physicians, followed by (approximately) one day devoted to each of the accelerator approaches. One day should be devoted to gantries and system aspects. Some of the participants should be radiation oncologists; approximately half of the participants should be academic accelerator builders and half industrial suppliers.