New Machine For Cancer

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31597, 7 February 1968, Page 14

New Machine For Cancer

A linear accelerator for radiation treatment of cancer will be installed at Christchurch Hospital by the Canterbury Hospital Board this year.

The machine is being assembled in the United States. By accelerating the speed of the electrons, it enables a higher dosage rate and the treatment of more patients in a given time. The rays from the acclerator use power up to 6,000,000

volts, enabling deeper penetration and greater possibility of success. A new building with concrete walls up to four feet thick is being erected at the hospital for the accelerator. It will have closed circuit television, special lighting, and air-conditioning and ventilation systems. The cost of the accelerator alone is expected to be about SUS2OO,OOO. The building and the accelerator together will cost about $400,000, and the board expects to pay with the money invested in a loan. Control of the beam causes it to be more definitely outlined, permitting highly accurate treatment over small or large areas. The accelerator will permit treatments not previously possible in Christchurch, including a technique using high-pressure oxygen in conjunction with radiation, and possibly the use of an electron beam for treatment. Dr A. M. Goldstein and Dr H. W. Fox, two who will use the accelerator, have had experience with the machine overseas. Mr A. H. Beddoe, a physicist and a member of the Christchurch Hospital scientific staff, is in London studying its use. Mr C. Gates, one of the technicians who will use the accelerator, is being instructed in its use and maintenance at the assembly plant at Palo Alto, California. Work on the building will begin soon and the plant is expected in Christchurch in several months.