Current Event: A Petite Particle Accelerator: A Proton Gun For Killing Tumors

       Imagine having a friend or family member who has a tumor that can kill them. Would you do anything? Would you pay any amount? Well I know I would. The usual treatment is using radiation. The problem with that is that it is not that precise. It has a high chance to damage other tissue. There was a solution for this. What is called proton therapy which shoots a beam directly into the tumor. It is very precise and barely damages surrounding tissue. The problem with proton therapy is that you needed a huge particle accelerator facility. Which is as big as an airplane hangar.
      Not only is the facility huge but it costs about $100 million just to build. So there is only 37 working facilities in the world. 10 of which are in the U.S. In the past year only 10,000 people were treated. Which is less than the 5% of the patients that need it. We now have a solution for this problem which is a safer and cheaper way of getting rid of that tumor. What is being developed now is a Proton Gun that is shot into the person and is able to destroy the tumor. It is being created by a company in Livermore, California called the Compact Particle Acceleration Corporation. They are creating a 13 foot long particle accelerator which is just like proton therapy but cheaper. It only costs $30 million more that half the amount of one facility. It uses magnets that generate a electromagnetic field. Which pushes the charged particles. Since they are still in development and at hard work it will take until 2015 for it to be available for use. My opinion on this article does not vary. I think that they should continue their work since it will help so many people. We are not that far away from the time it will be released. I believe that this is a great new invention. It takes a huge facility and fits it into a small 13 foot long proton gun. Since it will help our country and maybe even the whole world, it should be given to hospitals for a small fee or even free. It will help so many and i think we need it as soon as possible.

      Here are some pictures to show you what it looks like. Picture and article from: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/petite-particle-accelerator-proton-gun-killing-tumors/

 

This list will help you identify the objects in the picture.(from the article)

1. PROTON BEAM
Magnets in the kicker pull positively charged protons from hydrogen plasma made by a duoplasmatron. A deflecting magnet collects the stream into proton bundles, which then enter the injector, where a microwave field speeds the particles toward the acceleration chamber at up to five million mph.
2. LASER
At nearly the same time, a laser fires a light pulse, which splits into fiber-optic cables of various lengths.
3. ACCELERATION CHAMBER
As a bundle of protons enters the acceleration chamber, a light pulse hits the chamber’s first pair of electric lines, triggering the release of electrons. The resulting electromagnetic field propels the proton bundle forward. The light pulse triggers the electric lines in a wave, sequentially accelerating the proton bundle until it’s traveling at 335 million mph—or about half the speed of light.
4. CLOCK
The entire process is controlled by a clock, which directs magnets to turn on or off and the laser to fire.
5. ROBOTIC CHAIR
Moving a patient is easier than moving a 13-foot-long particle accelerator. A robotic chair maneuvers a strapped-in patient in front of the proton beam to target a tumor from different angles.