First Magnet Girder for Prototype Cancer Therapy Accelerator Arrives for Testing
Wednesday, March 2, 2016 - 10:20
in Physics & Chemistry
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have begun testing a magnet assembly for a new kind of particle accelerator for cancer therapy. Designed by Brookhaven scientists in partnership with Best Medical International (Springfield, Virginia), the accelerator--an "ion Rapid Cycling Medical Synchrotron" (iRCMS)--has the potential to deliver precisely controlled particle beams (protons and/or carbon ions) that destroy cancerous tumors while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.