Scientist team dedicated to proton therapy
Li Rui checks the proton therapy machine at Ruijin Hospital.
Every day around 8am, a grand machine at the Ruijin Hospital Proton Therapy Center starts to roll. Looking like something from a space war-themed sci-fi movie, the device connects to several treatment rooms, which resemble common rooms for CT scans or radiation treatment.
Professor Li Rui and his team have been working on the machine – the first-ever developed in China – from scratch for around seven years. It will be used to treat more than 10 common types of cancer, such as breast cancer and ocular tumors, and will be significantly less expensive for patients compared with imported machines in the city.
Li's team has 130 members – mostly young scientists around 40 years old – from all over the country, who are experts in various fields, including mechanisms, nuclear power and physics. One-third of them, including Li, are members of Communist Party of China.
"The machine is in the last phase of debugging to prepare for a clinical trial that's expected to begin in July, so for our team it's like working on a battlefield," Li said. "Many of them work shifts as long as 12 hours a day, and spend most holidays and weekends in the workplace."
Proton therapy is a type of radiation therapy that uses high-energy beams to treat tumors. Protons are accelerated like a knife that penetrate tumors and kills cancer cells without hurting other normal tissues.
The system is comprised of an accelerator, energy selection system, a beam transport system and rotating gantry irradiation equipment. Li's team is developing an entire device that creates, accelerates and guides the protons into human bodies to complete treatments. It is the first time China has tried to develop its own proton treatment system.
Born in 1976, Li has been studying linear accelerators for decades. Prior to this project, he joined the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Zhangjiang in the Pudong New Area. The facility is used to study the micro world, whose research findings can be used in various fields, such as bioscience and environmental science.
"There were so many technical barriers waiting for us to conquer, for both the proton treatment system and the synchrotron radiation facility," Li said. "For the proton treatment machine, we needed to develop a brand-new type of power supply that had never existed in the country, and some of the materials we use, such as a special type of magnet, had never been used in China. We have to make sure that every part of the machine works exactly according to our calculations, because precision means everything here. Any deviation would affect treatment outcomes."
However, no one complains about the challenges. They believe that as scientists, moreover CPC members, seeking and solving challenges is in their blood.
Team member Gu Jiani is responsible for securing approvals from the government for the system. To collect all the approval certificates, the system must meet nearly 30 different protocols from home and abroad.
"The protocols are very detailed, and we need to be careful," Gu said. "Even the location of a power board matters. For instance, movable power boards are not allowed in certain places due to safety concerns, and we need to check those places one by one and redesign the entire distribution if necessary."
She said the happiest moment of her life was the day a pile of approval certificates from the national facility inspection authorities arrived at the office.
"Before that I had been working for several straight weeks, setting things straight and talking back and forth with inspection officials in Beijing – it's hard to tell which one was more difficult – and the moment I saw the approvals on my desk, the relief and joy I felt was incomparable," Gu said.
Li Xiufang, another team member, agrees that nothing is more pleasant than making achievements on the project. With a master's degree in theoretical physics and a member of the team for nearly five years, she focuses on cooperating with hospitals to test the proton's motion path on mannequins and animals.
"Being a CPC member means you need to do better than many others," Li said. "And to me, the most precious spirit of a Party member is dedication. Focusing on what you should do and never be affected by any distractions."
She said when the project began, the center was still under construction, and the lab was always surrounded by clings and clangs when they had to read a large number of documents.
Li Rui (second from right) and his scientist team
"I remember a senior member in our team, who is also a CPC member, was never affected by any of the noises or troubles. No matter how difficult the environment was, he just sat there with his nose in the papers, and he inspired me a lot," she said.
Born and raised in a small village in central China's Hubei Province, Li said that in her hometown, Party members are well respected as role models.
"My grandfather is a Party member, and he runs a breakfast booth in my hometown," she said. "There is nothing to boast about, but he has been serving and helping people for decades."
Shen Jie, who is primarily responsible for the system's maintenance, said he was encouraged to attend lectures at a Party school when he was a teenager, and the experience inspired him to join the Party at university.
"At that time I thought the Party was where outstanding people gathered, but now I have different views," Shen said. "Being a Party member means shouldering responsibility. You can face a lot of problems in the workplace, but as a CPC member, you always need to put work first rather than weighing gains and losses."
After the system is put into operation, the team members will drift apart for their new roles. Some of them will stay to monitor and maintain the use of the device in Shanghai, like Shen does.
"I will face more challenges after the clinical trial begins," said Shen, a nuclear power expert. "Now we can leave mannequins on the bed for hours, even a day, to debug the system when glitches happen, but you can't leave real patients there for that long. "
Meanwhile, other members might leave for another city to develop proton therapy systems.
"Ideally, we would like the system to be available in the capital cities of every province and autonomous region in China," Li Rui said. "It should benefit everyone. The ultimate goal of the Communist Party of China is to benefit all the people."
