The University of Manchester is leading an 8.3 million drive to develop a new type of particle accelerator, which could lead to more effective cancer treatment, greener electricity and less nuclear waste.

Particle accelerators are used to produce beams of charged particles such as protons or electrons, which are then used for a wide variety of applications in medicine and industry and for pure scientific research.

Researchers say there is a compelling need for new types of accelerator that are easier to operate and maintain, are more reliable and compact, yet are more flexible and efficient.

One such accelerator is the 'non-scaling fixed field alternating gradient' (NS-FFAG) accelerator.

It is considered a very promising candidate, but no-one has yet built such a machine, and there are many technical challenges to be overcome before such a machine could be used commercially.

The new CONFORM* project has received 7.5 million funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The research is being led Professor Roger Barlow from The School of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Manchester, in collaboration with Science and Technology Facilities Council (formerly the CCLRC) at the Daresbury Laboratory, The Cockroft Institute (also based at The Daresbury Laboratory), The University of Oxford, Imperial College London, The University of Birmingham, The University of Surrey, The University of Leeds, The University of Glasgow and The Gray Cancer Institute.

Professor Barlow said: "An opportunity is arising which could allow the NS-FFAG to be used as a new type of charged particle therapy machine for treating cancer. The reduced size, increased reliability and flexibility of such machines should all lead to lower costs of ownership while delivering more effective therapies."

Professor Barlow adds that beams of protons or heavier particles such as carbon ions can
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Contact: Alex Waddington
alex.waddington@manchester.ac.uk
01-613-063-983
University of Manchester
2-May-2007