Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt
Contact: Andreas Schüller
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is the National Metrology Institute of Germany with scientific and technical service tasks. PTB measures with the highest accuracy and reliability – metrology as the core competence.
For service and research in the field of dosimetry for external beam radiotherapy PTB operates an electron accelerator facility in Braunschweig, Germany. Three accelerators offer excellent experimental possibilities for investigations with high-energy photon and electron radiation: from fundamental research to applications in hospitals. The linear accelerators available are two clinical accelerators and a research electron accelerator.
The clinical accelerators of type Elekta Precise Treatment System™ can generate high-energy photon radiation with nominal accelerating voltages between 4 MV and 25 MV and electron radiation with energies between 4 MeV and 22 MeV. Both accelerators are equipped with multileaf collimators allowing for investigations in very small or irregularly shaped beams.
At the research electron accelerator two irradiation set-ups are available which allow irradiation with electron energies in the range 0.5 MeV to 10 MeV and 6 MeV to 50 MeV, respectively. The properties of the electron beam, as for instance the beam position, beam profile, spectral electron fluence or the beam current can be measured with very small uncertainties.