Event Details

The Past, Present and Future of Proton Therapy Speaker: Dr. Hywel Owen, University of Manchester/Cockcroft Institute

Proton therapy uses a particle accelerator to generate and direct protons for the radiotherapy treatment of cancer and sometimes also other diseases. First proposed in 1946 by the physicist Robert R. Wilson, proton therapy has passed through its early years of experimental treatments in the 50s and 60s and the era of laboratory-based clinical use. The first hospital-based centre was in 1989 at the UK’s Clatterbridge Hospital, and since then over 50 proton and ion treatment centres have been constructed. Today the field is entering its next phase where commercial companies are producing ever more innovative designs, and the worldwide boom in centre construction is mirrored by the 7 proton therapy centres currently under construction in the UK - in fact, ALL the large particle accelerator projects in the UK today are commercial ones for proton therapy.In this talk I will talk about the history of proton therapy, its technological development, where we are today and what industry can teach us in the research sector, and what the future challenges might be. Some of this will revolve around our work at the Cockcroft Institute to contribute in key areas of development such as beam delivery, proton tomography and compact sources of protons.