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©2012 Optivus Proton Therapy, Inc.
Optivus Proton Therapy, Inc. • PO Box 608 • Loma Linda, CA 92354
Optivus: Proton therapy pioneers 1990-1995
Optivus Proton Therapy, Inc. grew quickly to employ scores of engineers. In early 1990 the accelerator and support systems were installed at LLUMC.
During the Summer and Fall, testing of the 250-million-electron-volt (MeV) synchrotron was conducted at LLUMC, with engineering expertise provided by Optivus. By October, the Optivus team completed the tuning and commissioning of the accelerator and fixed-beam room.
On October 20, 1990, the first patient – a woman with an ocular melanoma – was treated at the new Proton Treatment Center at LLUMC.
In March 1991, the second beam line was commissioned, enabling treatments to begin for patients with brain tumors and tumors of the head and neck. Later that year, the first gantry was commissioned at the proton treatment facility, marking the first time in history that a gantry was used to deliver a proton beam. The first patient treated with the gantry was a brain tumor patient. Subsequently, the gantry made it possible to deliver the first proton treatments at Loma Linda for a patient with prostate cancer. In later years, men with prostate cancer comprised more than 60% of the patients coming to Loma Linda for proton radiation treatment.
In 1992, groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the radiobiological research building at LLUMC. The support of U.S. Congressman Jerry Lewis was acknowledged with the naming of a floor in his honor.
By July 1993 molecular radiobiological research associated with projects of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) bagan at the new research facility. The cooperative LLU-NASA research program initiated studies of living systems to discover ways in which charged particles in space are likely to affect space travelers and scientific equipment. Actual construction of the laboratories began in 1994, and late that year, NASA and LLUMC officials signed a Memorandum of Agreement to study ways to protect astronauts from radiation in space. The ability of the LLU proton accelerator to simulate space radiation, made such research possible.
In 1994, the two remaining treatment rooms, Gantries 2 & 3, were completed.
In 1995, the research room was outfitted with dedicated beam lines for radiobiological and physics studies. That year marked the fifth anniversary of the proton facility, and Dr. Robert R. Wilson attended as special guest. One of the gantries was named in his honor, and in recognition of the seminal insights he expressed nearly 50 years previously.
