Collaborations for the Future
No facility as complex and as sophisticated
as the Roberts Proton Therapy Center exists in
a vacuum — it's part of a network of other
institutions and organizations all over the world
that share common goals and purposes. The Roberts
Center has forged alliances with a number of
other entities, both to fight cancer and to expand
knowledge.
Two of these partnerships are dedicated directly to treating patients. The
Roberts Center is closely tied to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to
improve the treatment of children with cancer and conduct clinical studies
to help physicians better understand pediatric cancers and to develop new treatments.
Another
partnership, with the U.S. Department of Defense — which has provided
significant development support for the Roberts Proton Therapy Center — and
the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Medical Center, aims
to benefit active duty U.S. military members and their families, who might
otherwise have difficulty getting access to the unique benefits of proton therapy.
The Center's cyclotron and beamline also provide
a vital resource for research in other aspects
of biology and physics. The Center features a
special research room dedicated to pure scientific
research, in collaboration with several government
agencies and other academic institutions.
Perhaps
the most unexpected ally of the Roberts Center
is NASA. The space agency is concerned about
cosmic radiation hazards for astronauts on long-duration
spaceflights to Mars and beyond. Scientists working
at the Roberts Center will be able to use the
facilities to simulate and study the radiological
hazards that future space travelers will have
to face.
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