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A compact high-gradient, very high energy electron (VHEE) accelerator and delivery system (and related processes) capable of treating patients from multiple beam directions with great speed, using all-electromagnetic or radiofrequency deflection steering is provided, that can deliver an entire dose

A compact high-gradient, very high energy electron (VHEE) accelerator and delivery system (and related processes) capable of treating patients from multiple beam directions with great speed, using all-electromagnetic or radiofrequency deflection steering is provided, that can deliver an entire dose or fraction of high-dose radiation therapy sufficiently fast to freeze physiologic motion, yet with a better degree of dose conformity or sculpting than conventional photon therapy. In addition to the unique physical advantages of extremely rapid radiation delivery, there may also be radiobiological advantages in terms of greater tumor or other target control efficacy for the same physical radiation dose.

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1. A system for delivering a particle beam to a targeted tissue in a patient, comprising: one or more accelerators, each of the one or more accelerators configured to generate one or more particle beams;one or more beam steering devices configured for receiving the one or more particle beams from th

1. A system for delivering a particle beam to a targeted tissue in a patient, comprising: one or more accelerators, each of the one or more accelerators configured to generate one or more particle beams;one or more beam steering devices configured for receiving the one or more particle beams from the one or more accelerators and steering the one or more beams to the target tissue from multiple directions; anda controller configured for controlling a length of time that the particle beam irradiates the targeted tissue in delivering an entire treatment dose, the length of time of delivering the entire dose being less than 10 seconds. 2. The system of claim 1, the system further comprising: a plurality of discrete beam ports arranged about the patient, wherein the one or more beam steering devices are configured to steer multiple beams from the one or more accelerators through the multiple discrete beam ports without requiring movement of mechanically moving parts. 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more accelerators comprise a single accelerator and the one or more beam steering devices are configured to steer multiple beams from the single accelerator to the targeted tissue from multiple directions through the multiple discrete beam ports. 4. The system of claim 1, the system further comprising: at least one beam port through which multiple beams are directed to the targeted tissue, wherein the at least one beam port is movable relative to the targeted tissue to provide additional angles for delivery of the multiple beams to the targeted tissue from multiple directions. 5. The system of claim 1, the system further comprising: wherein the at least one beam port is supported by a gantry configured to extend at least partly about the patient, the gantry being movable and/or rotatable relative to the targeted tissue. 6. The system of claim 1, the system further comprising: a continuous beam port configured such that the one or more beams are directed through the continuous beam port whereby the one or more beams can be directed to the targeted tissue from a range of angles. 7. The system of claim 1, the system further comprising: an annular ring-like beam port through which the one or more beams are directed to the targeted tissue from multiple directions. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more accelerators comprises multiple accelerators, one for each port of a plurality of beam ports arranged about the patient, wherein the one or more beam steering devices are configured such that steering multiple beams from the multiple accelerators through the respective beam ports directs the multiple beams to the targeted tissue from multiple directions without requiring movement of mechanically moving parts. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of beam ports are movable relative to the targeted tissue such that moving the plurality of beam ports provides additional angles for delivery of the multiple beams to the targeted tissue. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of beam ports are supported by a gantry configured to extend at least partly about the patient, wherein the gantry is movable and/or rotatable relative to the targeted tissue such that movement and/or rotation of the gantry moves the plurality of beam ports sufficiently to provide the additional angles for delivery. 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is configured such that the one or more particle beams comprises any of an electron beam and a photon beam. 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the particle beam of the one or more accelerators comprises a very high electron energy beam comprising an electron energy beam between 1 and 250 MeV. 13. The system of claim 11, further comprising: a plurality of beam ports through which the one or more electron beams are directed; andone or more photon sources positioned at one or more beam ports of the plurality of beam ports such that delivering the electron beam through the one or more beam ports creates a photon beam. 14. The system of claim 12, wherein at least some of the one or more photon sources are in a fixed position. 15. The system of claim 11, further comprising: a plurality of beam ports through which the one or more electron beams are selectively directed; andat least one photon source selectively positionable at one or more beam ports of the plurality such that directing the one or more electron beams through one or more beam ports at which the at least one photon source is positioned creates a photon beam, wherein the system is configured to provide multiple photon beams from multiple directions by moving the at least one photon source between multiple beam ports through which the one or more electron beams are directed. 16. The system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of beam ports are disposed on a beam port support structure configured to extend at least partly about the patient and the at least one photon source is disposed on a photon source support structure movable and/or rotatable relative to the beam port support structure. 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the photon source comprises any of a single target, a target array, a collimator grid and a multi-leaf collimator. 18. The system of claim 1, further comprising: one or more deflectors that deflect the one or more beams received from the one or more accelerators through one or more channels to one or more exit ports before delivery to the targeted tissue, wherein each of the one or more beams exit the respective exit port at an associated exit angle and an associated beam size. 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the one or more beams comprise multiple beams deflected through multiple channels that are directed to the targeted tissue from the exit channels of the multiple channels from multiple directions within a range of non-coplanar directions. 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the system is configured such that the exit angle is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the patient. 21. The system of claim 18, wherein the system is configured to change the exit angle and/or to change a beam size of the one or more beams exiting the beam ports to adapt to a particular treatment plan. 22. The system of claim 1, further comprising: an imaging or targeting system configured to provide rapid imaging and/or rapid targeting for delivery of the particle beam to the targeted tissue within the length of time. 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the imaging or targeting system is configured to obtain an image of the targeted tissue and/or targeted location of the targeted tissue immediately before delivery of the particle beam. 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to control delivery of the particle beam to the targeted tissue based on a comparison between the image and a pre-treatment planning image. 25. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured such that the length of time of delivering the entire dose is less than one second. 26. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more beam steering devices are selected from the group consisting of electro-magnetic devices and radiofrequency deflector devices. 27. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more beam steering devices are capable of providing thin pencil beam raster scanning. 28. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more beam steering device are capable of providing volume filling scanning. 29. A method for treating a patient, said method comprising: providing a system for delivering a treatment dose of radiation to a targeted tissue in the patient;generating one or more particle beams and accelerating the one or more particle beams with one or more accelerators of the system;steering the one or more beams received from the one or more accelerators to the targeted tissue from multiple directions with one or more beam steering devices of the system; andirradiating the targeted tissue with the one or more beams directed to the targeted tissue for a controlled length of time, the length of time being less than 10 seconds. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein generating one or more particle beams comprises generating multiple particle beams with the one or more accelerators and steering the multiple particle beams through multiple discrete beam ports arranged about the patient without requiring movement of mechanically moving parts. 31. The method of claim 29, wherein generating one or more particle beams comprises generating multiple particle beams with one more accelerators and steering the multiple particle beams through at least one beam port to the targeted tissue; and moving the at least one beam port to provide additional angles from which the multiple particles beams are directed to the patient. 32. The method of claim 29, wherein generating one or more particle beams comprises generating multiple particle beams with one more accelerators and steering the multiple particle beams to the targeted tissue through at least one beam port on a gantry extending at least partly about the patient; and moving and/or rotating the gantry to provide additional angles from which the multiple particles beams are directed to the targeted tissue through the at least one beam port. 33. The method of claim 30, wherein generating one or more particles beams with one or more accelerators comprises generating one or more particle beams with a single accelerator. 34. The method of claim 29, wherein steering the one or more beams comprises steering multiple beams through a continuous beam port to the targeted tissue from multiple directions within a range of angles. 35. The method of claim 29, wherein steering the one or more beams comprises steering the one or more beams from multiple directions through an annular ring-like beam port on a gantry that extends at least partly around the patient. 36. The method of claim 29, wherein steering the one or more beams comprises steering one or more beams from each of multiple accelerators through a plurality of beam ports, each accelerator corresponding to a beam port of the plurality of beam ports. 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the multiple beams are steered to the targeted tissue from multiple directions through the plurality of beam ports without movement of any mechanically moving parts. 38. The method of claim 36, further comprising: moving the plurality of beam ports relative to patient to provide additional angles from which the multiple particles beams are directed to the targeted tissue through the plurality of beam ports. 39. The method of claim 36, wherein steering the one or more beams through a plurality of beam ports comprises steering the one or more beams through the plurality of beam ports, which are provided on a gantry extending at least partly about the patient, the method further comprising: moving and/or rotating the gantry to provide additional angles from which the multiple particles beams are directed to the targeted tissue through the plurality of beam ports. 40. The method of claim 29, further comprising: deflecting the one or more beams received from the one or more accelerators through one or more channels of the system to exit through one or more corresponding exit ports of the one or more channels, wherein each of the one or more beams exit the respective exit port at an associated exit angle and an associated beam size. 41. The method of claim 40, wherein deflecting the one or more beams comprises deflecting multiple beams through multiple channels to the targeted tissue from the exit channels of the multiple channels from multiple directions within a range of non-coplanar directions. 42. The method of claim 40, wherein deflecting the one or more beams through the one or more channels comprises deflecting the one or more beams through the one or more channels to exit the respective exit port at the associated exit angle such that the one or more beams are perpendicular relative to a longitudinal axis of the patient. 43. The method of claim 40, further comprising: changing the exit angle and/or the beam size of the one or more beams exiting the exit ports to adapt to a particular treatment plan. 44. The method of claim 29, wherein generating one or more particle beams comprises generating one or more electron or photon energy beams. 45. The method of claim 44, wherein generating one or more particle beams comprises generating one or more beams comprise one or more electron energy beams between 25 and 100 MeV. 46. The method of claim 44, further comprising: steering the one or more electron energy beams through a photon source before delivery to the targeted tissue. 47. The method of claim 29, further comprising: obtaining an image of the targeted tissue immediately before delivering the one or more particle beams to the targeted tissue for irradiation treatment; andcontrolling delivery of the one or more particle beams to the targeted tissue with a controller of the system based on the image of the targeted tissue. 48. The method of claim 47, further comprising: obtaining one or more pre-treatment planning images of the targeted tissue;planning a treatment using the one or more pre-treatment planning images; andcontrolling delivery of the particle beams to the targeted tissue based on a comparison between the image and the one or more pre-treatment images. 49. The method of claim 29, further comprising: obtaining imaging or targeting location information of the targeted tissue with an imaging or targeting device and determining a position of the targeted tissue based on the imaging or targeting location information; andcontrolling directional delivery of the one or more beams to the targeted tissue using one or more beam steering devices based on the determined position and completing delivery of the entire dose before substantial movement of the targeted tissue from the determined position of the targeted tissue. 50. The method of claim 29, wherein irradiating the tissue comprises delivering multiple beams to the targeted tissue from multiple predetermined directions concurrently or in rapid succession at multiple predetermined points in time completing delivery of the entire dose from the multiple predetermined directions within less than 10 seconds. 51. A method for treating a patient, comprising: generating one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity, wherein each of the one or more particle beams covers an area of the targeted tissue with varying beam intensity according to a treatment pattern of desired radiation dose distribution;accelerating the one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity with one or more accelerators; andsteering the one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity to the targeted tissue with one or more beam steering devices from one or more directions. 52. The method of claim 51, wherein the one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity comprise an array of beamlets of varying intensity. 53. The method of claim 52, wherein the array of beamlets of varying intensity is produced by raster scanning individual beamlets of varying intensity from each beam direction of the one or more directions or by using a two-dimensional intensity-modulated electron pattern. 54. The method of claim 53, further comprising: projecting or scanning the two-dimensional intensity-modulated electron pattern on a photocathode. 55. A system for treating a patient, comprising: one or more beam generation devices configured to generate one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity, wherein each of the one or more particle beams covers an area of the targeted tissue with varying beam intensity according to a treatment pattern of desired radiation dose distribution;one or more accelerators configured for accelerating the one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity; andone or more beam steering devices configured for steering the one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity to the targeted tissue from one or more directions. 56. The system of claim 55, wherein the system is configured such that the one or more particle beams of varying beam intensity comprises an array of beamlets of varying intensity. 57. The system of claim 56, wherein the system is configured such that the array of beamlets of varying intensity is produced by raster scanning individual beamlets of varying intensity from each beam direction or by using a two-dimensional intensity-modulated electron pattern. 58. The system of claim 57, further comprising: a photo-cathode configured to produce the two-dimensional intensity-modulated electron pattern. 59. The system of claim 57, wherein the system is configured such that the one or more beams of varying intensity comprise multiple beams of varying intensity patterns so that, when delivered from multiple directions, the multiple beams produce a desired three-dimensional dose distribution when summed across the multiple beam directions. 60. The system of claim 55, further comprising: a controller configured to control delivery of the one or more particle beams to the targeted tissue from the one or more directions thereby irradiating the targeted tissue to deliver an entire treatment dose in less than 10 seconds. 61. A system for treating a patient, comprising: a photocathode;a light source configured for projecting or scanning an optical image on the photocathode, the optical image comprising a treatment pattern of varying intensity corresponding to a desired dose distribution across two or more dimensions for treating a targeted tissue of the patient;a photoelectron gun configured to generate a transverse-modulated electron beam from the optical image produced by the light source on the photocathode;an accelerator configured to increase the energy level of the transverse-modulated electron beam to a predetermined level; anda controller capable of controlling delivery of the transverse-modulated electron beam to irradiate the targeted tissue according to the desired dose distribution. 62. The system of claim 61 further comprising: one or more beam steering devices configured for steering the transverse-modulated electron beam received from the accelerator to the targeted tissue. 63. The system of claim 62 further comprising: one or more electron beam optics devices configured for maintaining fidelity of the treatment pattern during steering of the transverse-modulated electron beam by the one or more beam steering devices. 64. The system of claim 61 wherein multiple beam steering devices and multiple electron beam optics devices are distributed along the beam path alternating between beam steering devices and electron beam optics devices so as to maintain fidelity of the treatment pattern during steering of the beam with the multiple beam steering devices. 65. The system of claim 62, wherein the one or more beam steering devices comprise bending magnets. 66. The system of claim 55, further comprising: an electron beam monitoring system disposed along a beam line of the respective beam between the one or more beam steering devices and the target and configured to monitor and/or verify the treatment pattern of the steered transverse-modulating beam before delivery to the targeted tissue. 67. The system of claim 61 further comprising: a controller capable of controlling a length of time that the transverse-modulated electron beam irradiates the targeted tissue in delivering an entire treatment dose, the length of time being less than 10 seconds. 68. The system of claim 61 wherein the light source is a laser. 69. The system of claim 61, wherein the optical image comprises an intensity pattern corresponding to a dose distribution planned for delivery to the targeted tissue based on a given shape of the targeted tissue. 70. A method of treating a patient, the method comprising: projecting or scanning an optical image on a photocathode with a light source, the optical image comprising a treatment pattern of varying intensity corresponding to a desired dose distribution across two or more dimensions for treatment of a targeted tissue of the patient;generating a transverse-modulated electron beam from the optical image produced on the photocathode;accelerating the transverse-modulated electron beam to increase the energy level of the beam to a predetermined level; anddelivering the beam to the targeted tissue for a predetermined length of time from a first direction so as to irradiate the targeted tissue according to the desired dose distribution. 71. The method of claim 70, further comprising: steering the beam accelerated to the predetermined level with one or more beam steering devices; andmaintaining fidelity of the treatment pattern of the accelerated beam during steering using one or more beam optics devices. 72. The method of 70 further comprising: generating one or more additional transverse-modulated particle beams from one or more additional optical images projected or scanned on one or more additional photocathodes;accelerating the one or more additional transverse-modulated electron beam to increase the energy level of the beam to a predetermined level; anddelivering the beam to the targeted tissue for a predetermined length of time from one or more different directions so as to irradiate the targeted tissue according to the desired dose distribution. 73. The method of 72 further comprising: steering the one or more additional beams with the one or more beam steering devices; andmaintaining fidelity of the treatment pattern of each of the one or more additional beams during steering with the one or more additional beam optics devices. 74. A method of treating a targeted tissue in a patient, the method comprising: producing a first transverse-modulated electron beam in a first 2-dimensional intensity pattern;accelerating and steering the beam in the first 2-dimensional intensity pattern to the targeted tissue from a first direction to irradiate the targeted tissue according to the first 2-dimensional pattern;producing one or more additional transverse-modulated electron beams in one or more additional 2-dimensional intensity patterns different from the first 2-dimensional intensity pattern; andaccelerating and steering the one or more additional beams to irradiate the targeted tissue according to the one or more additional 2-dimensional intensity patterns from one or more directions different than the first direction, wherein summing the first 2-dimensional intensity pattern and the one or more additional 2-dimensional patterns across the first direction and the one or more additional directions corresponds to a desired 3-dimensional dose distribution suitable for treatment of the targeted tissue.