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Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Use of a Linear Accelerator for Conducting In Vitro Radiobiology Experiments
Published on: May 26, 2019
Back to the future: the history and development of the clinical linear accelerator
David I Thwaites1, John B Tuohy
1Radiotherapy Physics, Medical Physics and Engineering, Cookridge Hospital and University of Leeds, Leeds LS16 6QB, UK.
Abstract:
The linear accelerator (linac) is the accepted workhorse in radiotherapy in 2006. The first medical linac treated its first patient, in London, in 1953, so the use of these machines in clinical practice has been almost co-existent with the lifetime of Physics in Medicine and Biology. This review is a personal selection of things the authors feel are interesting in the history, particularly the early history, and development of clinical linacs. A brief look into the future is also given. One significant theme throughout is the continuity of ideas, building on previous experience. We hope the review might re-connect younger radiotherapy physicists in particular with some of the history and emphasize the continual need, in any human activity, to remain aware of the past, in order to make best use of past experience when taking decisions in the present.
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