New Cyclotron Building Will House Space, Medical Research Programs

The Cyclotron Biomedical Building, the culmination of five years of research in the effect of certain types of high energy radiation on men and animals in outer space, officially opened Thursday.

Part of the building will be equipped for treatment of patients with brain tumors, diabetic eye damage, Parkinson's disease, and breast cancer. Beams of atomic particles from the adjacent 160 million volt electron cyclotron will improve upon the traditional X-ray for treatment of localized tumors.

NASA Contributing to Program

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, whose primary interest in the project is the hazard of radiation to space travelers, contributed $182,000 for construction and equipment of the building. The program, which is being run by Harvard and the Massachusetts General hospital, is also supported by the National Institute of Health.

Recent space flights have indicated the intensity of high energy protons in the Van Allen radiation belt and in solar bursts in interplanetary space.

Dr. William M. Preston, chairman of the physics department, will direct the project.

Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, deputy administrator of NASA, Dr. George P. Berry, Dean of the Medical School, and Dr. John H. Knowles, general director of Mass. General, officiated at the dedication.