Cobalt-60 teletherapy
The machine that made curative radiotherapy widely available from the 1950s: a sealed cobalt-60 source in a rotating head. Linacs replaced it in rich countries, but cobalt units still treat many patients where power and servicing are unreliable.
Overview
The first cobalt-60 units were installed in Canada in 1951 and for thirty years were the workhorse of radiotherapy worldwide, delivering megavoltage gamma rays with far better depth dose than the X-ray tubes before them. Linear accelerators, with sharper beams, higher output and no decaying source, replaced them in high-income countries from the 1980s. Cobalt units remain in service in many low- and middle-income countries because they need little electricity and maintenance, though their source replacement and security are growing concerns and the IAEA is helping countries move to linacs.
How it works
A high-activity cobalt-60 source emits 1.25 MeV gamma rays; the shielded head rotates around the patient to deliver megavoltage external beam therapy.
- Simple and robust
- Low running cost
- Made megavoltage therapy available worldwide
- Source decays and must be replaced
- Broader penumbra and lower dose rate than a linac
- Security of the radioactive source
Latest papers
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