The Most Innovative Cancer Treatment is Designed in SolidWorks

Designers are by nature “problem solvers.” Sometimes designers are focused on making a product more aesthetically pleasing, but usually engineers are focused on this one fact – to solve a need, and solving the huge need to eliminate cancer is no different. Designers are not doctors or nurses on the front lines of wellness, but there are many medical device designers who spend their days focused on helping those in need. From portable Defibulators to Incubators to artificial limbs, designers are solving a need to help those with ailments through better and innovative new products. However, when I think of medical devices, I think of smaller devices that fit into a patient’s hospital room, not devices that take up an entire three story building, as the good folks at ProNova Solutions are designing.

As you can see from this video, the designers and engineers at ProNova are a very dedicated group working to develop an innovative machine to eliminate cancer cells. Proton Therapy, the latest advancement in cancer treatment, guides a proton into a patient to turn a cancer cell into water – it’s quite an amazing feat, but also not very easy one – not even close.

It starts with a Cyclotron – basically a small nuclear reactor, which produces a proton. But how do you guide this proton to the exact location of a cancer cell? That’s the challenge that the designers at ProNova had, and we’re proud to say they designed this device using SOLIDWORKS. Now imagine the sheer amount of electrical work that goes into creating this massive three story device. Any guesses? We’ll the Cyclotron requires managing 18 miles of cable, which was implemented using SOLIDWORKS Electrical.

Above is some of the cable and equipment needed to make this therapy happen, and below you can see the patient side of the design. The patient will basically lie in the middle of this huge gantry. It’s similar to a CAT scan machine, only much larger, and much more complex.

Watch this video to understand more about what ProNova does, and hear about their amazing drive to build this innovative device to save lives.