iuco.indiana.edu/index.shtml Some final thoughts on the closing of the IU Cyclotron and the Proton Therapy Facility: For many years, my husband and his fellow cyclotron operators were responsible for tuning and delivering beam that was used by scientists for physics research and to determine radiation effects. Much of the research was performed for NASA (and more recently, SpaceX and other private companies). About 10 years ago, NSF funding dried up, and a decision was made to use the cyclotron for a very different primary purpose--to generate proton beam to treat cancer patients. A treatment center was built, separated by a wall from the Cyclotron Facility, complete with complex gantries that allowed proton beam to penetrate incredibly specific locations on individual patients bodies. The cyclotron operators, my husband included, are by nature and by training, technicians. Their emphasis had always been on mechanics, electronics, and physics. When they first began helping to treat human beings instead of things, my husbands stress level was so high that I avoided telling him when Id read an article indicating that a child, toddler, or baby was being treated on the other side of his wall. In time, his job became more routine and less stressful, but he never forgot that there were people who were ill on the other side of that wall, and he and his co-workers took their responsibility very seriously. Thanks, guys, for all youve done!
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 18:11:42 +0000
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