The history of proton therapy dates back to the year 1946 when Robert Wilson suggested using this type of radiation for cancer therapy in 1946.
As the application of protons for radiation therapy is technically challenging, it took until 1954 before the first patients were treated in Berkeley, CA, USA, and shortly thereafter in Uppsala, Sweden.
The history of proton therapy – selected events:
- 1904 W.H. Bragg u. R. Kleeman, „On the ionisation curves of radium“,Phil. Mag. 8 (1904)
- 1931 1 MeV Protonen-Zyklotron (Lawrence)
- 1946 R. Wilson, „Radiological use of fast protons“, Radiology 47 (1946)
- 1954 UC Berkeley, first medical use
- 1957 Uppsala, Gustav Werner Institute
- 1961 Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory
- 1978 Geman proposal for a cyclotron facility in Heidelberg fails
- 1984 OPTIS facility at SIN (today: PSI)
- 1990 First treatment hospital based treatments start at Loma Linda
- 2001 Clinical proton facility at Mass. General HospitalStart of a continuing establishment of new proton therapy centers in USA, Japan, China, Germany, South Korea, Czech Republic, France and Italy.
- 2002 Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory closes
- 2010 Worldwide are 23 proton therapy centers in 7 countries in clinical operation or under construction