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linear accelerator

A modern linear accelerator, labeled "LTBA Merifac," is shown with its cylindrical body and control panel, highlighting its role in medical treatments through high-energy particle acceleration.

A machine that uses oscillating radiofrequency fields in a straight evacuated tube to accelerate charged particles to high energy. Medical linacs, developed from the 1950s onward, accelerate electrons to between 4 and 25 MeV. The electrons either strike the patient directly for shallow treatments or hit a tungsten target to produce penetrating X-rays for deep tumours. Most cancer radiotherapy today is delivered by some descendant of this design.

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