Abstract
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In the last 25 years microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) has emerged as a promising alternative
to conventional radiation therapy at large, third generation synchrotrons. In MRT, a multi-slit
collimator modulates a kilovoltage x-ray beam on a micrometer scale, creating peak dose areas with
unconventionally high doses of several hundred Grays separated by low dose valley regions, where
the dose remains well below the tissue tolerance level. Pre-clinical evidence demonstrates that such
beam geometries lead to substantially reduced damage to normal tissue at equal tumour control rates
and hence drastically increase the therapeutic window. Although the mechanisms behind MRT are
still to be elucidated, previous studies indicate that immune response, tumour microenvironment,
and the microvasculature may play a crucial role. Beyond tumour therapy, MRT has also been
suggested as a microsurgical tool in neurological disorders and as a primer for drug delivery