Current location:

Collection Storage Facility

Provenance:

This Theratron Junior (serial no. 15) radiotherapy device was used in Binghamton, New York, at Our Lady Lourdes Hospital from 1957 to 1968.

Technical history:

The Theratron Junior delivered cobalt-60 radiation, a radioactive isotope of cobalt, for the treatment of cancer. Cobalt beam therapy uses deeply penetrating gamma radiation from a cobalt-60 source contained in the heavily reinforced tungsten head. These gamma rays are directed at malignant tumour sites.

History:

In 1951, Canada was the first country to develop cobalt-60 radiation treatment. This cobalt therapy machine was manufactured by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, a world leader in developing and selling nuclear technology for medical purposes.