Field of Expertise:
Radiation and Hadron therapy
Hadron therapy uses protons and other ions to treat tumours, rather than X-rays as in conventional radiation therapy.
Radioisotopes
Radioisotopes are used in precision medicine to diagnose cancers, as well as other diseases such as heart irregularities, and to deliver very small radiation doses exactly where they are needed.
Imaging
Advances made to particle detectors at CERN and elsewhere have continuously fuelled new developments in medical imaging.
Dosimetry
Particle detectors also have important applications in the field of dosimetry, where novel technologies can considerably improve the performance and reliability of dose monitoring procedures.
Simulations and Computing
CERN is tackling the challenges of collection, storage and processing of ever-larger data sets, expertise which benefits the medical field. Simulation codes, developed for HEP, have become vital when modelling the effects of radiation on living tissues.
CERN Technologies
Ventilators provide oxygen enriched air to patients who have difficulties in breathing, or cannot breathe autonomously.
High-quality, Low-cost Medical Vent...
The PicoTDC is a specially developed 64 channel Time to Digital Converter (TDC) ASIC in 65nm CMOS for use in High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments and similar scientific applications.
PicoTDC
A novel seismic monitoring technology capable of high precision sensing of ground inclination and vibration, which allows for faster seismic event identification and alerts.
Precision Laser Inclinometer
White Rabbit provides sub-nanosecond accuracy and picoseconds precision of synchronization for large distributed systems.
White Rabbit
The 3D Magnetic Sensor Calibrator is an innovative device for calibrating magnetic field with high resolution.
3D Magnetic sensor calibrator
The ActiWiz software aims to hide the complexity of chemical composition of materials (activation of material) by reducing the problem to the definition of a few input parameters via a graphical user interface.
ActiWiz
An open-source software platform to easily create, run, and visualise 3D agent-based simulations
BioDynaMo
A user-friendly web tool for chemical safety that the Organization developed and launched in 2020.
CERN Chemical Register for Environm...
C2MON is a modular Java framework for fast building, highly available, large-scale industrial monitoring and control solutions.
CERN Control and Monitoring Framewo...
C2MON is a modular Java framework for fast building, highly available, large-scale industrial monitoring and control solutions.
CERN Control and Monitoring Framewo...
CernVM-FS is a web-based, global, and versioning file system optimized for software distribution.
CERN VM-FS
The Coaxial Pulse Conditioner can improve the pulse stability and repeatability of pulsed power systems down to +/-0.02 % or better.
Coaxial Pulse Conditioner
CERN developed the orbital cutting machine for repair of awkwardly located pipes in tight spaces. It is relevant for the industrial piping needs of accelerator facilities, as well as in sectors with environmental hazards, such as oil and gas piping, heat exchangers, and piping in nuclear plants.
Compact Universal Orbital Cutter ...
A radiation and magnetic field tolerant DC-DC Point-Of-Load (POL), which enables distribution at higher voltage, with local on-detector conversion to the voltage required by the electronics, considerably decreasing the current in the cables.
DC-DC converter
A simple radiation hard topology for low power emergency escape lighting in radioactive environments.
Emergency Lighting Power Converter ...
Extremely fast and low noise photon and electron counting possibilities, providing significant advances in photon sciences and electron spectroscopy.
Fast front-end readout electronics ...
A fully integrated particle physics MonteCarlo simulation package
FLUKA
An amplification technique for position detection of ionising radiation.
Gas electron multiplier
A compact non-rotating gantry for charged particle therapy
GaToroid
A toolkit for simulating the passage of particles through matter.
Geant4
A toolkit for simulating the passage of particles through matter.
Geant4
The GEMPix detector is a device able to detect all types of radiation with a high spatial resolution.
GEMPix
The GEMPix detector is a device able to detect all types of radiation with a high spatial resolution.
GEMPix
A novel very compact radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linear accelerator.
High Frequency Compact Linear Proto...
A novel very compact radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linear accelerator.
High Frequency Compact Linear Proto...
Indico (Integrated Digital Conference: http://indico.cern.ch) is a web-based, multi-platform, conference lifecycle and agenda management system.
Indico
The Integrated 2-Phase Accumulator Controlled Loop (2PACL) is a modification of the existing 2PACL system developed for the AMS-Tracker and LHCb-VELO CO2 cooling systems.
Integrated CO2 cooling system
Invenio, the integrated digital library and repository system, is a suite of applications which provides the framework and tools for building and managing an autonomous digital library server.
Invenio
KiCad is an EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software suite for the creation of professional schematics and printed circuit boards.
KiCad EDA Software Suite
Kryolize is a software tool for sizing the minimum discharge area of a safety protection device, against overpressure.
Kryolize
A stepping motor driver with unique abilities
Long-distance motor driver
Short pulse and 4-quadrant power supplies for conventional and superconducting magnets
Magnet Power Supplies
MEDICIS is a facility for the production of medical radioisotopes
MEDICIS
The Medipix2 ASIC is a high spatial, high contrast resolving CMOS pixel read-out chip working in single photon counting mode.
Medipix2
Medipix3 is a CMOS pixel detector readout chip designed to be connected to a segmented semiconductor sensor. In addition to counting every particle hitting the pixels, it permits colour imaging and dead time free operation.
Medipix3
Chemical Via is a new chemical method to make microvias for high density printed multilayer circuits.
Micro Chemical Vias
The new invention solves the problem of precisely mounting a cantilever to a structure in a vaccum tight, radiation hard way, where no further alignments are needed.
Mounting mechanism for cantilever w...
Quantitative Finance Library for Python
QF-Lib
The quasar framework helps reduce the cost of developing and maintaining OPC-UA integration components (servers) through model driven code generation and re-use of common, OPC-UA related, code.
Quasar framework - OPC-UA server ge...
A dose monitoring device for the radon radioactive gas.
RaDoM (Radon Dose Monitor)
The “wall-less” GEM-type structure is capable of stable operation and high gas gain in humid ambient air and in photosensitive vapours including, TMAE.
Radon detector with high gas gain, ...
RADShip is a comprehensive software package that efficiently manages all aspects of shipping radioactive materials.
RADShip
Radiation and Environment Monitoring Unified Supervision
REMUS
ROOT is a general-purpose framework that provides an object oriented set of tools with all the functionality needed to handle and analyze large amounts of data in an extremely efficient way.
ROOT
A diamond-based universal multi-mode to single-mode laser converter
Singular Light: Integrated Single M...
Silicon Photo-Multipliers with Strip Geometry for Enhanced Timing Resolution
Strip SiPM
The Structured Laser Beam represents a new paradigm in the creation of non-diffractive beams (NDBs) and it has the potential to greatly improve a number of mainstream applications using laser beams or light beams.
Structured Laser Beam
Innovative Graphite Composites for Thermal Management Applications
Thermal Management Materials
Thin film coatings are widely used in industry to improve the quality of a vacuum.
Thin film coatings
Timepix2 is a programmable, general purpose hybrid pixel detector readout ASIC. The Timepix2 ASIC consists of a matrix of 256x256 pixels with pixel pitch of 55μm, and is applicable to a wide range of applications including X-ray imaging, particle tracking and material analysis.
Timepix2
Timepix3 is a general-purpose integrated circuit suitable for readout of both semiconductor detectors and gas-filled detectors.
Timepix3
Timepix3 is a general-purpose integrated circuit suitable for readout of both semiconductor detectors and gas-filled detectors.
Timepix3
Timepix4 is a programmable general purpose hybrid pixel detector readout ASIC, with a larger chip area and improved time stamp precision and hit rate capability in comparison to its predecessor, Timepix3. The Timepix4 ASIC consists of a matrix of 448 x 512 pixels with a pixel pitch of 55μm. By utilising Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) technology, the ASIC has been designed to be 4-side buttable, permitting almost seamless tiling on all 4 sides. The detector can be applied to a wide range of applications including X-ray imaging, particle tracking and material analysis.
Timepix4
TIM is a mechatronic product designed for CERN’s specific needs; providing unmanned operations in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Main functionalities: Surveying, monitoring, safety and ad-hoc interventions when necessary
Train Inspection Monorail (TIM) ...
Funded Projects
Success Stories
The latest example is The Madonna and Child, a painting on canvas from a private collection. In 2020, the Czech start-up InsightART successfully helped attribute the painting to the Renaissance master Raphael, using RToo, a state-of-the-art robotic X-ray scanner.
During 2016, the construction of the 750 MHz Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) was successfully completed.
During 2016, the construction of the 750 MHz Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) was successfully completed.
In September 2020, CERN and the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) announced their collaboration on an innovative facility that will use CLIC (Compact Linear Collider) accelerator technology.
CERN patented Gas Electron Multiplier updated for use in hadron therapy and radiotherapy.
CERN patented Gas Electron Multiplier updated for use in hadron therapy and radiotherapy.
CERN patented Gas Electron Multiplier updated for use in hadron therapy and radiotherapy.
Developing standards for activated material characterisation would not only improve the safe handling of these materials, but also help unclutter storage facilities by removing materials that can be recycled.
A new Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor, originally developed to upgrade the ALICE inner tracking system during the second long shutdown of LHC, is on its way to Bergen University for a very different application – Proton Computed Tomography (Proton CT).
Horizon 2020 project ARIES aims to improve the performance, availability and sustainability of particle accelerators, transferring its benefits and applications to science and society.
In September 2019, CERN, the foundation Commodity Risk Management Expertise Centre (CORMEC) and the Wageningen University signed an agreement to develop new methods for identifying anomalies that can harm the integrity of commodity and financial markets.
CERN's TimePix3 chip will be used on third license by ASI for devices in X-ray imaging, electron microscopy to particle track reconstruction.
CERN's TimePix3 chip will be used on third license by ASI for devices in X-ray imaging, electron microscopy to particle track reconstruction.
TIM, the Train Inspection Monorail, is a mini vehicle autonomously monitoring the 27-km long LHC tunnel.
Initially developed for use by CERN's radiation protection group and the fire brigade, CERN's B-RAD portable radiation survey meter uses innovative solutions based on silicon photomultipliers to continue operating in the presence of high magnetic fields.
BAQ, a startup using CERN technologies, tackles radon in buildings.
A portable RFQ acclerator expects to open up for new possibilities in art studies.
Two other projects initiated with the support of the CERN Medical Applications budget were quickly adapted to COVID-19 research: CAFEIN and MARCHESE.
The start-up Camstech Ltd joined the STFC-CERN Business Incubation Centre in 2016.
CELESTA stands for CERN Latchup Experiments Student sAtellite and will be the first CERN-driven microsatellite.
The collaboration agreement between CERN and ESA, signed in July 2019, addresses the challenge of operating in harsh radiation environments found in both particle-physics facilities and outer space.
FastIC project catching the attention of the Medical Imaging industry.
A team of experts from CERN shared their expertise on machine learning with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines business unit of Sanofi, a global life sciences company.
In March 2020, a working group was established by CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti as a response to the wealth of ideas and proposals put forward by the CERN community in contribution to the global fight against COVID-19
2019 saw the official launch of the Next Ion Medical Machine Study (NIMMS), an umbrella R&D programme for – both existing and new – CERN accelerator technologies linked to heavy-ion therapy.
Sharing software and codes in big data environments is a challenge. To do this efficiently researchers at CERN have developed a system called CernVM-FS, for CERN Virtual Machine File System, which is currently used in high-energy physics experiments to distribute about 350 million files.
CERN-MEDICIS (Medical Isotopes Collected from ISOLDE) is a unique facility designed to produce unconventional radioisotopes with the right properties to enhance the precision of both patient imaging and treatment.
The initial collaboration has now become an international initiative called Circular Health, looking at both technical and data governance aspects.
The National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) in Pavia, Italy, is a facility offering advanced therapy to fight cancer and one of only five centres in the world treating with both protons and carbon ions.
In 2020, CERN signed three new agreements with CNAO, the National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (Italy) and with EBG-MedAustron, the company responsible for the construction and operation of MedAustron cancer treatment and research centre (Austria).
CERN software used for applied research in pharmaceuticals, IT networks analytics, neurology and mapping the educational space.
How can you tell the difference between a masterpiece and a masterful forgery? A project between CERN and INFN is expected to open up new possibilities to answer this question.
The CERN group of the Crystal Clear Collaboration is developing new fast detector prototypes for use in both high-energy physics experiments and medical imaging.
The CYCLADS project aims to design an innovative High Power Cyclotron as part of Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS), for novel nuclear waste management applications.
The CERN openlab project BioDynaMo aims to establish a high-performance, general-purpose platform, through which life scientists can easily create, run, and visualise three-dimensional biological simulations.
MAGICS Instruments receives license for CERN developed DC/DC converter chip.
Since 2014, the Electrical Power Converters group at CERN has been developing compatibility software to allow its power converter digital controls to be integrated into the more commonly used controls frameworks TANGO and EPICS.
The Knowledge Transfer group at CERN initiated a pilot programme in collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), with the purpose of exploring how cutting-edge Israeli companies and institutes can embrace specific CERN technologies and know-how to fuel innovation and drive positive impact in society.
A commercial agreement was established with ISIS (Innovative Solutions In Space) BV, a Dutch company specialised in nanosat solutions.
In 2016, there were eleven requests for FLUKA licences. Mainly from companies performing shielding studies, but also from some in the field of safety, inspection and auditing that requested the technology, as well as companies working in radio-protection related to dismantling activated industrial facilities.
In 2016, there were eleven requests for FLUKA licences. Mainly from companies performing shielding studies, but also from some in the field of safety, inspection and auditing that requested the technology, as well as companies working in radio-protection related to dismantling activated industrial facilities.
FLUKA is a particle transport and interaction simulation code, originally developed by CERN and INFN for particle physics, which finds applications in a wide range of other domains including medical.
FLUKA is a particle transport and interaction simulation code, originally developed by CERN and INFN for particle physics, which finds applications in a wide range of other domains including medical.
Since 2016, CERN is part of a research project to develop a system for optimised irrigation, based on technologies developed for high-energy physics.
One of the Knowledge Transfer (KT) group’s priorities is to foster a culture of entrepreneurship at CERN. This is made possible throughactivities such as the Business Incubation Centre (BIC) network and programmes like the CERN Entrepreneurship Student Programme (CESP) and the NTNU and BIC screening weeks.
The ever-increasing magnetic fields required to achieve the desired energies in colliders like the LHC and in the Future Circular Collider, are the main drivers for developing superconducting cable technology. Two technology synergies are emerging: high-field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and "smart" superconducting grids.
GeneROOT uses a data-processing framework developed at CERN for the high-energy physics community, to analyse large genomics datasets.
In November 2018, an ESA-led team came to CERN to test many space components with one of the most energetic radiation beams available on earth: the lead-ion beam delivered by CERN’s Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) accelerator.
The High Energy Ventilator (HEV), first prototyped in March 2020 by a team of physicists from the LHCb collaboration, was designed as a fully functional, high-quality medical ventilator for use in and out of intensive care units.
As part of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a team led by physicists and engineers from the LHCb collaboration has proposed a design for a novel ventilator.
The Hyperloop competition, intiated by SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, sets the challenge of devising a pod-like transportation system travelling at sonic or even ultrasonic speeds in high-vacuum tubes over several hundreds of kilometres - reducing travel times from hours to minutes.
IGLUNA is an educational project aimed at investigating the realisation of a human habitat on the moon. 18 student teams from all over Europe, built several technology demonstrators for this habitat.
A2O Innovation Solutions is a start-up providing technologies for weight reduction, operational efficiency and CO2 emission reduction mainly targeted at the transport sector.
CERN signed a knowledge transfer agreement with the company ETM, a 100% owned subsidiary of Siemens AG.
CERN started manufacturing face masks and shields early on during the pandemic.
The following CERN irradiation facilities will be part of CERN-ESA protocol on radiation testing: IRRAD, CERF, n_TOF, and CALLAB.
In March 2018, experts from ESA and IROC Technologies came to perform tests in VESPER.
Kryolize is a software tool for sizing relief valves that protect against overpressure, and benefits from funding from the CERN Knowledge Transfer Fund.
LG Display get license for CERN middleware software
A project to renew the emergency lighting systems within the LHC, and other tunnels of CERN's accelerator complex, has resulted in an innovative design for a radiation resistant power supply.
The brilliant light produced by synchrotron light sources has opened up new possibilities for the detailed scientific analysis of cultural artefacts.
Intellectual property (IP) lies at the core of successful knowledge transfer at CERN, allowing CERN to manage scientific and technological developments for maximum impact in society. One example is the CERN Open Hardware Licence (OHL).
The expertise of the CERN specialists continues to be an important source of knowledge for the work of the MedAustron experts.
ADVACAM – a company using CERN Medipix technology - developed a new range of X-ray imaging cameras optimised for composite material testing.
CERN's Large Metrology section consulting on metrology technology.
MARS Bioimaging released new images generated with the innovative MARS compact scanner, based on the Medipix3 technology developed at CERN.
VZLUSAT-1 is a technological nanosatellite for in-orbit demonstration of new technologies and products.
In 2020, Zenodo, the open-data repository developed by CERN with co-funding from the European Commission, was upgraded with additional storage and a dedicated community for COVID-19 research.
The CernVM File System was developed to assist high-energy physics collaborations to deploy software on the worldwide-distributed computing infrastructure used to run data processing applications.
PlanetWatch, a CERN spin-off, aims to provide a solution to generate, validate, analyse and record air quality data. Their environmental sensor uses the CERN technology C2MON.
The European Synchotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) aquires Power Converters to power their magnets
CERN developed a new multiple memory system (MMS), which solves this problem and increseses the reliability of a programmable system located in harsh environments.
Terabee SAS, a start-up supported by the French BIC Innogex, developed the proximity-sensing device Proximeter, based on CERN’s miniIoT (Internet of Things) technology.
The CERN Robotics Software is used to manage autonomous movement, which allows a modular robotics platform to perform sophisticated tasks.
In 2018, the start-up SAFETYN SaS joined InnoGEX, the French BIC of CERN technologies.
G-RAY is a Swiss private company focused on the development and commercialisation of particle detectors and related services for medical imaging.
The start-up Terabee started off providing aerial inspections and imaging services by deploying drones.
Zenuity, a company developing software solutions for automotive safety and autonomous driving (AD), has become the first to team up with CERN in the fields of fast machine learning.
In October 2018, the SPS North Area (H2 line) supported several scientific beam tests, led by the University of Geneva.
CERN technician Didier Lombard developed a compact new pipe-cutting tool for the Large Hadron Collider, with potential applications in the gas and petrol industry.
Originally developed for use in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, the Medipix technologies have made the journey from CERN to applications across a wide range of sectors - an outstanding example of how technology developed at CERN can create societal impact.
Originally developed for use in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments, the Medipix technologies have made the journey from CERN to applications across a wide range of sectors - an outstanding example of how technology developed at CERN can create societal impact.
Quasar is a software framework for generating OPC-UA servers, mostly used to control power supplies at CERN.
In 2016, CERN and the University of Bath released a new shareware toolbox for fast, accurate 3D X-ray image reconstruction with applications in medical imaging for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
In 2016, CERN and the University of Bath released a new shareware toolbox for fast, accurate 3D X-ray image reconstruction with applications in medical imaging for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
This project is devoted to the development, testing and first applications of a high-resolution single photon imaging technique (Gamma MRI).
Nicknamed TRACI, for "Transportable Refrigeration Apparatus for CO2 Investigation", is a compact CO2 cooling system.
VESPER stands for Very energetic Electron facility for Space Planetary Exploration missions in harsh Radiative environments. It is a high-energy electron beamline for radiation testing, part of the CTF3 (Compact Linear Collider Test Facility) experimental linear electron accelerator at CERN.
White Rabbit is a protocol developed at CERN for monitoring and controlling devices based on industrial networking technology, made available as open hardware and open source software.
The Medipix collaboration technology is finding its way into the cultural heritage field, where its used for art restoration and imaging.