Performances of the scanning system for the CNAO center of oncological hadron therapy

Abstract In hadron therapy one of the most advanced methods for beam delivery is the active scanning technique which uses fast scanning magnets to drive a narrow particle beam across the target. The Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica (CNAO) will treat tumours with this technique. The CNAO scanning system includes two identical dipole magnets for horizontal and vertical beam deflection, each one connected to a fast power supply. The dose delivery system exploits a set of monitor chambers to measure the fluence and position of the beam and drives the beam during the treatment by controlling the sequence of currents set by the power supplies. A test of the dynamic performance of the scanning system has been performed using a Hall probe to measure the field inside the magnet and the results are presented in this paper.