Photo credit: NZAwards
February 2020
At the Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year awards dinner, held on February 20, 2020, Bill Buckley was presented with the New Zealand Innovator of the Year Award for 2020.
The award recognised Bill’s vision in developing a Boron-Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) device for the treatment of cancer. Identifying the huge potential of BNCT treatment, Bill purchased the technology from an existing proton accelerator developed for another industry and helped design a water-cooled lithium target that could produce a medically effective dose of thermal neutrons. The existing proton beam technology was re-engineered and uprated to produce 2.6 MeV and extensive research was done to make sure the lithium target did not melt under the power of the beam.
Rather than tackle one problem at a time, Bill’s determination to deliver the machine in a tight time frame meant not only working on detailed design issues, but simultaneously developing unique, customised manufacturing equipment to streamline manufacture. Calling on the large manufacturing and technical resources at Buckley Systems in New Zealand, employing a team of experienced accelerator designers in the United States and medical professionals who had done pioneering research on and treatment with BNCT in Finland meant that the first machine, now installed in Helsinki University Hospital, will be treating patients by the end of 2020. What would normally have taken many years to get to trials has been achieved in a fraction of the time.
On the award, Bill says, “It’s good to get the recognition for what we do here. The world is now starting to get interested in BNCT, a second machine is in production and we are fielding a lot of inquiries for more.”
Photo credit: NZAwards