by KYW's Mark Abrams
A huge piece of equipment at the heart of a new cancer treatment center under construction at the University of Pennsylvania arrived early Tuesday morning.
A group of Mummers hailed the arrival of the bottom half of a cyclotron, which was carried aboard a 200-foot-long tractor rig (right) on a 14-mile journey through South Philadelphia to University City.
Steve Greulich is director of design and construction for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He says the cyclotron (in wooden box in photos), which creates an energy beam to destroy cancer cells, was built in Japan and tested in Belgium. He says it was brought to Philadelphia in two pieces aboard a ship:
"This hit the dock a couple days ago, and this is half of the cyclotron. This weighs 220,000 pounds, which is 110 tons."
Greulich says the top portion will be brought to the construction site aboard the same tractor rig early Wednesday morning.
The Roberts Proton Therapy Center, which will house the unit, is set to open in the summer of 2009.
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