New accelerator for cancer treatment

摘要

Anew $4.5 million linear accelerator has been installed at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. The 9t device was lowered into the lead-lined radiotherapy bunker after preparatory works were completed. The centre's Radiation Engineering Department was assisted by ComputerTrans and Varian for the installation. Radiation engineer Brad Shilling said: "The old machine was decommissioned at the end of August which was a huge task in itself. 10t of machinery had to be cut into pieces before being removed from the building and the old base frame had to be cut out before the new base could be brought in. "The new concrete was poured and left to dry for four weeks, during which time many lengths of cabling and fixings for the peripherals were installed and other finishing touches put on the room before the new machine was delivered."