STARTUP PERFORMANCE OF THE TRAVELING-WAVE VERSUS STANDING-WAVE LINEAR-ACCELERATOR

The startup performance of medical linear accelerators is of increasin g importance for modern radiotherapy techniques. The traveling wave-ty pe linear accelerator of the SL series of Philips (now Elekta Oncology Systems) has been modified in its flight tube design to meet this goa l of a fast rise time of the radiation field. The new slitless flight tube combined with a redesigned gun servo electronic now achieves star t up times of the radiation comparable with those of a standing wave l inear accelerator (Siemens Mevatron) according to our measurements. (C ) 1998 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [S0094-2405(98) 02004-5].