Iranian scientists have designed a linear accelerator for treating cancer tumors. Farid Nejatbakhsh, the director of the medical linear accelerator, said the project, which was started two years ago, has made considerable progress.
The accelerator is expected to be fully launched by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2016), ISNA quoted Nejatbakhsh as saying.
Linear accelerators were first used in nuclear and particle physics research. They are now commonly used in engineering and medical fields.
Using electrons and x-rays, the device generates high power and can be used for radiotherapy of cancer cells.
"Electrons hit and destroy cancer cells after the accelerator receives data from tumors," he said, adding that the system only targets cancer cells. Nejatbakhsh said the Iranian model costs half the price of foreign counterpart, which is $1,000,000.
