Lund University
Medical Applications of Particle Accelerators (NPAP MOOC)
Lund University

Medical Applications of Particle Accelerators (NPAP MOOC)

Taught in English

Some content may not be translated

7,199 already enrolled

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

4.6

(255 reviews)

Beginner level
No prior experience required
7 hours to complete
3 weeks at 2 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

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Assessments

22 quizzes

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There are 4 modules in this course

Welcome to this course on medical applications of accelerators. The most important applications of accelerators in medicine are radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging using radionuclides, which both play a very important role in the treatment of cancer. Thus, the course focuses on these two applications of accelerators in medicine. In fact, accelerators for radiotherapy is the largest application of accelerators altogether with more than 11000 accelerators worldwide. These accelerators range from very compact electron linear accelerators with a length of only about 1 m to large carbon ion synchrotrons with a circumference of more than 50 m and a huge rotating carbon ion gantry with a weight of 600 tons. The course starts with an introduction to radiotherapy with focus on the biological properties of ionizing radiation. Subsequently, the electron linac for radiotherapy is presented. The main components of the electron linac are the multi-energy linac structure and the treatment head, which converts the electron beam to the desired dose distribution in the patient. Next, proton accelerators for radiotherapy are discussed with focus on the applied accelerator types and the treatment delivery technologies. Treatment with heavy ions and the challenges of proton and heavy ion therapy are also presented. Finally, the medical application of radionuclides are introduced and the production of radionuclides with cyclotrons is discussed.

What's included

3 videos8 readings5 quizzes

What's included

4 videos6 readings6 quizzes

What's included

4 videos8 readings6 quizzes

What's included

5 videos14 readings5 quizzes

Instructor

Instructor ratings
4.4 (89 ratings)
Lars Hjorth Præstegaard
Lund University
1 Course7,199 learners

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Lund University

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4.6

255 reviews

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    2.35%

EK
4

Reviewed on Jun 27, 2020

AP
4

Reviewed on May 29, 2020

YI
5

Reviewed on Apr 23, 2023

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