Discovery Monday - Physics for medicine: the use of accelerators in therapy

What does research at CERN have to do with medicine? Perhaps very little at first glance. And yet particle beams are proving to be efficient weapons in the fight against certain diseases. Doctors and physicists will explain how and why at the next Discovery Monday, to be held at Microcosm on 3 May.
Various technologies and instruments will be presented during the evening. You will learn, for example, how scientists use radioisotopes to destroy tumours without damaging the surrounding tissues. You will also find out about LIBO, a small linear accelerator used for treating deep-seated tumours.
Before therapy can begin, it is vital to make the right diagnosis. On this subject, radiologists will be showing how to interpret a number of X-rays, as well as teaching the youngest visitors about their anatomy and explaining how useful particle physics can be in medicine.