What is Proton Therapy
History of Proton Therapy
in the early 1900sErnest Rutherford's research discovered that protonsof the atomIt resulted in a nuclear reaction that led to its first 'fission'. Ernest Rutherford made his discovery, based on the Greek word "protos" meaning "first".protons". It was also discovered that charged particles (protons and light ions) have a limited range in matter. As they lose velocity along their path, the probability of interaction to cause ionization increases, so that the accumulated dose peaks at a depth proportional to the energy of the charged particle. Beyond this peak, another dose not accumulated.
This scientific phenomenon was thenWilliam Braggdefined by. American physicist in 1930Ernest O. Lawrenceet al. to accelerate the proton to a high enough energy for cancer therapy applications.cyclotronThey were the first to invent the He invented the cyclotron in 1929 and developed it as a particle accelerator in the 1930s.
and won the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for this work. He founded the Radiation Laboratory in 1931, which later became the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Ten years later, an advanced version of the 184-inch diameter synchrocyclotron was commissioned, capable of generating 340 MeV protons.
Dr. Robert Rathburn WilsonIn 1946, while at Harvard University's Department of Physics, he wrote a seminal article proposing the idea that proton beams could be used to treat cancer. PhotonorX raysHe described the main physical property of the depth-dose curve for protons and heavily charged particles compared to He explained the way particle beams release their energies as the beam enters the body in its path to the tumor: first a smaller amount of energy is released and then a much larger amount of beam energy is released at the end of its path (Bragg Peak) and then it stops completely.
Wilson, II. It also played an important role in the development of nuclear weapons during World War II (“The Manhattan Project”); but he later chose to shift the focus of nuclear physics to medical practice for the good of humanity. In addition to Wilson being a highly accomplished sculptor and architect, he was later responsible for the development of the Fermi Laboratory and was its founding director.
an American physicistDr. Robert Rathburn Wilsonfor the treatment of cancer in his seminal 1946 article.proton beam therapyHe was the first to suggest its use. He is considered the "father of proton therapy".