September saw more daily change in the MPTC project. Varian, the proton therapy equipment manufacturer, continued installation of the major equipment, finishing installation of the beam transport system and doing the alignment of those components. They also continued assembly of the cyclotron inside the facility. Part of this work was preparing a clean-room environment to assemble some of the internal components inside the cyclotron. They also prepared for the completion of the cryogenic system that will be used to cool the superconducting magnet in the cyclotron. This system is critical to the cyclotron’s performance.
The treatment rooms also made very good progress in the month of September, with the major components for Gantries 3 and 4 being put into place inside the building. In addition, the large, 26-ton, bending magnets that sit atop of each of the four gantries were put into place. Mechanical assembly of the four gantries will continue through the next several months, but all components large enough to require roof access and the large external crane have been put in place. This is a big milestone, as it will allow us to put the final radiation shielding blocks into place, closing the treatment rooms off as they will be for the rest of the center’s operation. Varian also was able to assemble the core components that will go inside of the fixed beam room, the fifth and final treatment room at the center.
In addition to mechanical assembly, Varian made great progress configuring and placing the power supplies and other cabinets and controls required to run the proton therapy system. As part of this work, their electrical contractors are hard at work pulling, terminating, testing and connecting the cables that run throughout the system. This is the single largest piece of work that will be done in the installation. The entire team is very excited about each additional step that gets us closer to bringing proton therapy to the people of Maryland and beyond.
During the months of July and August, the team continued to work on the equipment installation which began in June with the installation of the cyclotron. After the cyclotron was installed, the team immediately set the precast roof planks. These planks were set, welded, grouted and sealed to protect the equipment from the outside elements. The base plates along the beam line were set and grouted in preparation for magnet delivery. Electrical cabinets and components arrived to the site and were installed in the building. In Gantry 4, work was completed on the embed plates allowing Varian to move forward in this space with the next phase of equipment delivery.
Manufactured by Varian Medical Systems of Palo Alto, Calif., the cyclotron weighs 90 tons, but just 6 feet high and 9 feet wide. The cyclotron accelerates protons to roughly 100,000 miles per second or 0.61 times the speed of light, to create a beam that can precisely reach tumors, even if deeply seated and located near critical organs. This beam can also be shaped in three dimensions to avoid surrounding healthy tissues, targeting tumors with unprecedented accuracy.
During the month of February, green screen along Poppleton Alley was installed. Inside the building, crews continue to work on punch lists (or to-do lists).
