Cancer treatment cyclotron unveiled
Updated on 08 November 2008
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has inaugurated what scientists describe as the world's most powerful cyclotron for use in the treatment of cancer.
The machine splits the atom and accelerates cancer-fighting protons to nearly the speed of light. Radioactive protons are then delivered in precise doses to kill tumours in cancer patients.
The Arronax cyclotron, near the western city of Nantes, is three to four times more powerful than most comparable machines operating today, said Jean-Francois Chatal, a professor in nuclear medicine and communications adviser for the project.
Mr Fillon hailed the 37 million-euro (£30 million) facility as a symbol of the strength of French research.
"This cyclotron offers users an instrument that is unheard-of in France and in Europe," he said. "This research focuses our hopes for progress precisely at a time when the global economic crisis is raising real questions about growth and development in our countries."
Arronax is an acronym for Accelerator for Research in Radiochemistry and Oncology at Nantes Atlantic, and also a nod to the character of Professor Pierre Aronnax in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by 19th century French writer Jules Verne.
Mr Fillon said the potential applications of the machine, which also include the treatment of nuclear waste, were worthy of Verne's imagination.
The French government has made fighting cancer one of its priorities, saying the number of new cases of the disease has practically doubled in the last 25 years.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
