The biomedical programs at the ID17 beamline of the European synchrotron radiation facility

The application of synchrotron radiation in medical research has become a mature field of research at synchrotron facilities worldwide. The ability to tune intense monochromatic beams over wide energy ranges differentiates these sources from standard clinical and research tools. At the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, a dedicated research facility is designed to carry out a broad range of research ranging from cell radiation biology to in vivo human studies. Medical imaging programs at the ID17 biomedical beamline include absorption, K-edge and phase contrast imaging. Radiation therapy programs, namely the Stereotactic Synchrotron Radiotherapy and the Microbeam Radiation Therapy are rapidly progressing towards the clinical phase. This paper will present a very brief overview of the techniques and of the latest results achieved at the ESRF.