WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall today announced that TPL, Inc., in Albuquerque will receive $717,744 to continue its cancer treatment research through a grant from the National Cancer Institute at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Small Business Innovation Research Grants program has awarded the funding for TPL Inc.'s research with Power Source Development for Compact Proton Accelerators, a newly developed tool for radiation-based treatment technology.
"Millions of Americans die from cancer every year and this research will help to make proton therapy more accessible to everyone. This funding will advance promising technology that has the potential to help save lives while improving our knowledge of cancer treatments," Udall said.
Radiation therapy is one of the primary weapons in the battle against cancer, and proton therapy is now considered one of the most advanced forms of radiation therapy available for cancer treatment - but the size and cost of currently available proton therapy devices have severely limited the technology's practical use and availability.
A substantial reduction in the size and cost of proton therapy machines is required for more practical use in typical cancer-treatment centers. Providers hope proton therapy machines will eventually be small enough to replace existing X-ray machines. TPL, Inc. in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC Davis Cancer Center, has defined a technical approach that may allow development of the first low-cost, compact proton-therapy machine.
