Cancer is a health issue that plagues the entire world. The most common form of treatment would be chemo-therapy, which involves radiation. The problem with this treatment is that too much radiation could negatively effect the patient whereas not enough won’t kill all the cancer cells, therefore increasing the risk that the cells will continue to grow. In Australia, at the University of Wollongong, Saudi Arabian Ziad Alrowaili, who has been developing a way to calculate the amount of radiation each patient requires for the past three years, has finally created the ‘magical plate’. But what is it exactly?
The magic plate calculates how much radiation a cancer patient needs in order to deliver radiation more safely and effectively to cancer patients. Alrowaili said,
‘’The magic plate we have developed at the Center for Medical Radiation Physics allows physicists to measure the radiation dose during the patient’s treatment which is safer and more effective.’’
The plate consists of more than 100 silicon sensors which sit in the radiation path and detect the intensity of the radiation beams. It’s still a tiring task as it adds to a significant workload for clinical and medical physicists.
The new invention is a great breakthrough in the field of medical science and for radiation treatment. Mr. Alrowaili is now working with Dr Martin Carolan, of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, on further testings to make the plate more adaptable for clinical use.
For Alrowaili this new technology will be of a great benefit for the people around the world including his home country, which motivates him even more. He explains,
“Personally, the magic plate has a symbolic meaning to me, as it inspires me to develop new ideas that can continue to improve cancer treatment around the world”.
This new invention makes it much easier for doctors to determine the correct amount of radiation that a cancer patient requires for treatment. This will reduce the patient’s exposure to excessive amounts of radiation, as well as reduce the amount of suffering each patient will have to go through. Hopefully soon this new development could be implemented in countries all around the world!
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