NIMMS – Next Ion Medical Machine Study

NIMMS aims to develop technologies for the next generation of compact, performant and lower cost accelerators for ion therapy cancer treatment.

The project outlines an R&D programme for the development of related critical accelerator technologies ; the programme builds on existing activities and on core CERN competences. Two accelerator designs have been identified by a large hadron therapy community as the most promising options for future ion therapy facilities: a superconducting synchrotron and a high-frequency linac. Instead of fully developing the two alternative designs, phase one of the NIMMS project aimed to concentrate CERN funding only on the development of a few key technologies that correspond to its key competences, leaving to end users the role of assembling the technologies into a user-specific design. Furthermore, it was determined that as soon as one of the two design options appeared superior to the other, all CERN resources would be dedicated to it. The project was organised in 3 work packages (superconducting magnets, linacs, gantries). 

Additional funding was granted in 2021 to cover the 2nd phase (2022-23), building on the success of the 1st phase, 2019-21. Phase 2 aimed at fostering CERN engagement in the recently approved EU projects, and at making additional collaborations possible moving to the following phase of prototyping, demonstration, and detailed design of the NIMMS technologies. NIMMS2 focused on the design of a curved high-field cos-theta superconducting magnet demonstrator for gantries, the design optimization and testing of ECRIS ion sources for medical accelerators, the detailed definition of an advanced SC synchrotron for ion therapy, and in a new activity exploring the potential of Machine Learning in the field of medical accelerators.

The 3rd phase (2024-2026) aims to develop technologies for the next generation of compact, performant and lower cost accelerators for ion therapy of cancer. It aims to support and coordinate ongoing activities, as well as 1) preparing a Technical Design Report (TDR) for a synchrotron-based facility for therapy and research with helium beams and 2) setting-up and exploiting a test stand for low-energy medical beams. Activities are performed in collaboration with external partners that are contributing with personnel and equipment. The budget requested would be utilized to cover personnel engaged in gantry and magnet design, the helium synchrotron and the ion source test stand as well as design office, training, software and outreach. 

The NIMMS programme comes twenty years after the Proton Ion Medical Machine Study (PIMMS) [1], initiated at CERN in the 90’s in partnership with TERA Foundation (Italy), MedAustron (Austria), and Onkologie 2000 (Czech Republic). PIMMS aimed at producing a synchrotron design optimised for treating cancer patients with protons and carbon ions. The proposed design was detailed in two reports issued in 2000; The initial design was improved by the TERA Foundation, and finally evolved into the machine built for the CNAO treatment centre in Italy, with seminal contributions from INFN. Later on, MedAustron in Austria built its treatment centre starting from the CNAO design and received technological support from CERN.

[1] Proton-Ion Medical Machine Study (PIMMS) Report (1)(2), Accelerator Complex Study Group, supported by the Med-AUSTRON, Onkologie-2000 and the TERA Foundation and hosted by CERN