Technologies originally developed for experiments in particle physics are being used to diagnose and treat cancer

Particle physicists spend most of their time exploring the fundamental properties of matter, often with accelerators that cost hundreds of millions of pounds. However, some are also engaged in an altogether more down-to-earth activity – developing new technologies for medical applications. This activity has a long history of success, which is why about 130 physicists and healthcare professionals met in London recently to discuss “the future of medical imaging and radiotherapy”. A major theme at the meeting was how technology from particle physics could be used to diagnose and treat cancer.

“I don’t think there is any discipline that has gained so much from technology developed for applied physics as cancer diagnosis and therapy,” says Alan Horwich of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. “There is considerable potential for improving cancer cure rates over the next 10 to 15 years by the application of emerging imaging technologies to radiotherapy.”

According to Horwich, who is director of clinical research and development at the ICR, some 270000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the UK every year, but less than half of the cases involving the most common types of cancer – breast, prostate, lung and bowel – are cured. He told the meeting that the accuracy of radiotherapy needed to be improved because that would reduce the exposure of normal tissue to potentially harmful levels of radiation and allow higher doses to be directed at the tumour. He also said it is important to understand how to target the most resistant parts of a tumour.

Meeting of minds

Technology developed by particle physicists has already led to a number of breakthroughs in medical imaging, including positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed X-ray tomography (CT) and molecular imaging. In addition, linear accelerators are used to provide energetic photons for radiotherapy. The London meeting was organized by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) to explore new technologies that could be added to this list and discuss their possible commercialization.

Nathan Hill, PPARC’s industry co-ordinator, says that the council is keen to encourage collaborations between academics and industry, and that it has already set up 14 collaborative projects in the field of healthcare. “Several of these collaborations have resulted in the development of successful spin-out companies,” he said, “bringing the physics technology to the medical market place.”

Among the physics-based applications discussed at the meeting were the use of statistical analysis to improve image quality, a hand-held gamma camera for cancer diagnosis and the use of artificial neural networks to analyse cancer survival rates. Another application involves the development of a microstrip dosimeter that should allow clinicians to target tumour more precisely and minimize damage to healthy tissue.

(Edwin Cartlidge, Physics World, June 2005)

1.2. Go back to the text and point out the information concerned with:

· the importance of the scientific advance in particle physics;

· the possible practical applications of imaging technologies to radiotherapy;

· the necessity of improving the accuracy of radiotherapy;

· the technological breakthroughs.

· some other physics-based applications of new technologies.

1.3. Summarize the content of the article using the phrases below.

The article reports on ….

Much attention is given to ….

It is reported that ….

It is pointed out that ….

The article claims that ….

The article is of interest ….

Text 2

2.1. Read the article and indicate the paragraphs that describe:

· possible dangerous effects of improper recycling methods on pollution levels and people’s health;

· harmful effects of modern personal computers;

· safety check results of some recycling centers;

· measures that should be taken to solve the problem of high-tech waste disposal.

 

Are Recycled PCs Harming the Earth?

For years, environmentalists and responsible PC makers have encouraged computer users to recycle their old computers instead of simply throwing them out. Millions of environmentally loyal consumers and businesses have heeded the call. Instead of tossing their old PCs and other hardware into a dumpster, these users have donated them to charitable or given them to recycling centers.

In the United States today, there are thousands of individual computer recycling centers in operation. Many of them keep the old computers in house, stripping away parts that can be used, then safely recycling the unusable parts.

More often, however, recyclers ship the old hardware overseas, and millions of tons end up in China, India, and developing nations. There, often in impoverished villages with little or no other industry, workers dismantle old PCs by hand, exposing themselves to harmful chemicals and releasing thousands of pollutants into the air, water, and the ground.

Now, environmentalists have issued a new plea: that responsible governments and industries work together to stop this practice. If it continues unabated, experts argue, we can expect thousands of recycling workers to become ill, and for pollution levels to rise to unprecedented levels in areas where improper recycling methods are used.