Very high-energy electron (VHEE) radiotherapy (RT) has gained significant attention as a viable approach for cancer treatment, offering enhanced dose distribution and deeper penetration (up to 30 cm) compared to traditional photon-based therapies. VHEE RT also supports ultra-high dose-rate (UHDR) irradiation, enabling FLASH radiotherapy (FLASH-RT) to deliver therapeutic doses in milliseconds while minimizing damage to healthy tissues. However, the practical implementation of VHEE has been limited by the lack of hospital-scale accelerators. To overcome this barrier, high-gradient laser-plasma accelerators (LPAs) have emerged as a promising solution, offering cost-effective, compact, table-top accelerators suitable for clinical settings, although the required laser systems may not be as compact. We investigate VHEE applications at the upcoming I-LUCE radiation production facility at INFN-LNS, using a plasma- discharge capillary. Dose delivery estimate for a 200 MeV electron beam is reported through GEANT4 Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, exploring the development of next-generation radiotherapy techniques.

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S. Arjmand, A. Amato, R. Catalano, G. Cuttone, C. Manna, D. Oliva, A.D. Pappalardo, G. Petringa, J. Suarez, F. Vinciguerra, G.A.P. Cirrone, "Implementing plasma-discharge capillary design for very high energy electron (VHEE) applications at I-LUCE facility", RAD Conf. Proc., vol. 8, 2024, pp. 96-102; http://doi.org/10.21175/RadProc.2024.18