Emma, the 90-ton cancer killer, is coming to UAB

The University of Alabama at Birmingham's newest cancer-fighting tool is set to be installed next week.It's a 90-ton, $25 million cyclotron, called 'Emma', and will make its home in UAB's Proton Therapy Center, according to a news release from UAB.The cyclotron works by aiming a beam of protons at a tumor site to treat cancer. The UAB center will be the first to offer proton therapy in Alabama.'Emma' was built in Germany and was shipped overseas to Georgia, where it'll be placed on a special truck destined for Birmingham.Once here, a heavy lift crane will lift 'Emma' into the air and drop the cyclotron through an opening in the roof of the UAB Proton Therapy Center.The lift is scheduled to take place Monday at 11:00 a.m.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham's newest cancer-fighting tool is set to be installed next week.

It's a 90-ton, $25 million cyclotron, called 'Emma', and will make its home in UAB's Proton Therapy Center, according to a news release from UAB.


The cyclotron works by aiming a beam of protons at a tumor site to treat cancer.

The UAB center will be the first to offer proton therapy in Alabama.

'Emma' was built in Germany and was shipped overseas to Georgia, where it'll be placed on a special truck destined for Birmingham.

Once here, a heavy lift crane will lift 'Emma' into the air and drop the cyclotron through an opening in the roof of the UAB Proton Therapy Center.

The lift is scheduled to take place Monday at 11:00 a.m.