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Machine As Heavy As 747 Arrives To Help In Cancer Fight
220-Ton Atom Smasher Winds Its Way Through City's Streets
POSTED: 8:20 am EST January 29,
2008
UPDATED: 8:43 pm EST January 29,
2008
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia is now home to a heavyweight cancer-fighting machine called the cyclotron.
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The Mummers were on hand Tuesday to welcome the city's newest technological marvel.The cyclotron arrived at the University of Pennsylvania after being shipped from Belgium. The massive machine weighs 220 tons, or as much as a 747 jetliner.It was a strange sight on the streets of Philadelphia early Tuesday as the massive, high-tech device slowly navigated city streets on a truck with a police escort after arriving on a boat.The cyclotron is a particle accelerator. It pushes atoms to nearly the speed of light, producing a beam of energy that kills cancer tumors with amazing accuracy."This is an advanced form of radiation therapy that focuses the beam in a way that has very little damage except to the tumor that we're trying to treat," said Ralph Muller, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.There are only two cyclotrons on the east coast. This one will be part of the Roberts Proton Therapy Center. Once it's up and running, the center's five treatment facilities should be able to help hundreds of patients every week.The 220-ton device is scheduled to be operating by sometime next year.
Images
The Mummers were on hand Tuesday to welcome the city's newest technological marvel.The cyclotron arrived at the University of Pennsylvania after being shipped from Belgium. The massive machine weighs 220 tons, or as much as a 747 jetliner.It was a strange sight on the streets of Philadelphia early Tuesday as the massive, high-tech device slowly navigated city streets on a truck with a police escort after arriving on a boat.The cyclotron is a particle accelerator. It pushes atoms to nearly the speed of light, producing a beam of energy that kills cancer tumors with amazing accuracy."This is an advanced form of radiation therapy that focuses the beam in a way that has very little damage except to the tumor that we're trying to treat," said Ralph Muller, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.There are only two cyclotrons on the east coast. This one will be part of the Roberts Proton Therapy Center. Once it's up and running, the center's five treatment facilities should be able to help hundreds of patients every week.The 220-ton device is scheduled to be operating by sometime next year.
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