b The development of MEDICAL PHYSICS and BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING in NEW ZEALAND HOSPITALS 1945-1995 _____________ Some personal overviews by Hugh Jamieson Bruce White Ray Trott Jack Tait Gordon Monks __________ Editor H D Jamieson ___________ Second edition First published 1995 Second edition 1996 Reprinted 2006 ISBN 0-476-01437-9 ii CONTENTS Second edition Index of photographs; Staff lists .. .. .. .. iv Preface, and Preface to Second Edition .. .. .. 1 Introduction .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 Early hospital physics in NZ: "Some memory fragments" 3 Around the centres (first appointments in the 6 centres) 7 Supervoltage radiotherapy (summary) .. .. .. 8 Nuclear medicine (summary) .. .. .. .. .. 12 Nuclear medicine imaging (summary) .. .. .. 14 Biomedical engineering (summary) .. .. .. .. 15 Computing in hospitals (summary) .. .. .. .. 18 The ongoing developments (summary); Conclusion .. 20 Photograph, 1954 inaugural NZMPA meeting, Christchurch 21 Hospital/Medical Physics in Dunedin - Hugh Jamieson 23 Wellington Hospital - Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering .. 62 Hospital Physics Beginnings at Auckland Hospital .. 68 The History of Nuclear Medicine in Auckland -Bruce White 71 Auckland Hospital...Medical Physics & Clinical Engineering - Bruce White 83 Hospital/Medical Physics at Palmerston North Hospital - Ray Trott 97 Medical Physics & Bioengineering at Christchurch Hospital - Jack Tait 108 Hospital Physics / Scientific Services at Waikato Hospital - Gordon Monks 135 Retrospect and contemplation .. .. .. .. 151 = = = = = = = = = = = = iii INDEX OF PHOTOGRAPHS Second Edition Page 5 NZMPBEA meeting, Hamilton, 1981 6 Mr R L Luke and HDJ, with 1899 hand radiograph 9 Christchurch Theratron-B Co-60 unit, installed 1956 10 Thyroid uptake equipment, Thyroid Research Unit, 1952 13 Early thyroid scan, Christchurch rectilinear scanner 21 At inaugural meeting of NZMPA, Christchurch 1954 22 Dunedin radiotherapy, 1951: X-ray plan and mould; and selection of radium moulds 33 Wakari Hospital, Dunedin; 24 MeV betatron; 1958 34 Betatron compensator alignment; 21 MeV electron beam 43 Uncommon radiography: Watermark images; NZ skinks 44 Dunedin Cliniscanner 1961; and the later upgraded unit 65 Wellington Mobaltron Co-60 unit, 1962 66 Group of three at Palmerston North 1957 NZMPA meeting 70 Metrovick 4 MeV linac, model installed at Auckland 1958 81 Auckland Hospital Nuclear Medicine staff, 1972 82 Auckland Medical Physics & Clinical Engineering staff 99 Palmerston North Hospital - early X-ray plant, 1904; Marconi 250/60 kVp X-ray therapy unit 100 Palmerston North Barazzetti Co-60 unit installed 1958; and unique 'twin-tower' supervoltage suite 115 Christchurch Hospital isodose plotter; and Resomax 300 kVp X-ray therapy unit,installed 1957 116 Christchurch Hospital home-built rectilinear scanner 121 'Himalayan interlude'; titanium skull plate prosthesis 122 Christchurch Hospital 'Radioisotope Lab' staff, 1969 131 Christchurch designed-and-built X-ray CT scanner 132 Christchurch Medical Physics & Bioengineering staff 141 Picker Magnascanner - rectilinear scanner, as installed at Hamilton and in many other centres 142 Foundation floor construction, in Waikato Hospital redevelopment, 1980-82; and delivery of Varian linac through the roof, 1981. = = = = = = = = = = = LISTS OF MEDICAL PHYSICS & BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING STAFF Page 61 Wakari/Dunedin Hospitals 67 Wellington Hospital 93 Auckland Hospital 96 Palmerston North Hospital 133 Christchurch Hospital 150 Waikato Hospital, Hamilton = = = = = = = = = = = iv PREFACE It is appropriate, and essential, to first pay a tribute to the many hospital physicists, biomedical engineers, and physics technical officers, in all our New Zealand centres, who have worked together hard and effectively over these many years, in the interests of patients, hospital services, and medical physics/biomedical engineering. Isolation has always been a problem with the separation of our centres, but this has been overcome through the years with occasional correspondence, meetings, and our friendships. We have always agreed and supported each other in any matters of moment, and we have been able to disagree amicably on some details at times. We should also like to record here the names of those physicists who worked with us in earlier years, but are now deceased - they are well-remembered: Campbell Begg (first physicist at Palmerston North Hospital); Howard Tripp (who began in Dunedin, and was briefly the first physicist at Waikato Hospital); and Maurice Looser (who worked for two periods in Dunedin). It is difficult today to predict the future in the health services, and in our major hospital centres, but our retired group of hospital physicists will continue to follow with great interest the ongoing developments in both hospital physics and in biomedical engineering. We all wish our successors well in the next fifty years of their endeavours! Hugh Jamieson and Owen Hames Bruce White Tom Rogers Ray Trott Wallace Armstrong Jack Tait Bob Borthwick Gordon Monks Ross Garrett = = = = = = = = = = = = = PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION, May 1996 The quality of reproduced photographs has been greatly improved for this edition, due to willing and skilled assistance offered by David Goode and Richard Fright at Christchurch Hospital. We appreciate their considerable help. There have been minor changes and additions to the text, with some corrections. A few photographs have been added, and some changes made to suit the revised format. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 1 "THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOSPITAL PHYSICS, and BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, in NEW ZEALAND HOSPITALS" "Some personal overviews for the period 1945-1995" INTRODUCTION: The first fulltime hospital physicist in NZ was appointed in Dunedin in November 1945. Other centres followed suit until by 1965, all six main centres employed hospital physicists. Coincidentally, the Roentgen Centennial Year 1995 also marks fifty years since the appointment of the first hospital physicist. As a number of the early hospital physicists are now retired, it is an appropriate time to have them record their personal overviews of developments in their particular centres. Not all retired people wished to be included. This booklet contains these writings. They are not strictly histories as such, but much accurate historical matter is included, along with the individual 'flavour' which each person brings with his unique knowledge of people and events of the times. The names of the contributors are noted here, together with the centre with which they were so closely associated, and the years in which they worked there. They are given in the order in which the first appointment was made in each centre. Hugh Jamieson Dunedin 1947-1984 (First appt 1945) .. .. .. Wellington ( " 1950) Bruce White Auckland 1961-1993 ( " 1952) Ray Trott Palmerston North 1962-1986 ( " 1952) Jack Tait Christchurch 1956-1988 ( " 1954) Gordon Monks Hamilton 1965-1985 ( " 1965) Only a small amount of editing has been done, to minimise repetition, and to give a reasonably uniform format. I appreciate that those contributing asked me to act as editor. Hugh Jamieson November 1995 = = = = = = = = = = = 2 EARLY HOSPITAL PHYSICS IN NZ: SOME MEMORY FRAGMENTS (1945-95) THE BACKGROUND SCENE: It's more than fifty years, depending on criteria! Through John Strong Lectures, we know of the early radon plant set up by Noel Hill (then a part-time physics student) at Wellington Hospital in 1925, but in Dunedin I found a 1921 letter about "one package of radium bromide" sent to "Professor R Jack, Otago Hospital & Charitable Aid Board, Dunedin". Bobby Jack was then Professor of Physics; he also set up the first radio station in NZ; in 1945 he was a player in having Warren Sinclair appointed as the first full-time hospital physicist in NZ. X-rays were demonstrated in Dunedin on August 26, 1896, to the Otago Branch, NZ Medical Association; 8 months after Roentgen's discoveries (A C Begg, NZ med J, 1975, 82 1-5). Diagnostic radiology soon spread - I still have an original print of a hand radiograph taken in 1899 in Dunedin; many centres started X-ray work by 1910. There were many sad stories: "...Dr Ewart of Wellington Hospital worked his machine in the cellar stripped to his singlet because of the heat. With the soft X-rays his chest showed a curious mottling which gave him warning of danger. He suffered burns in the hands...." (C C Anderson, Histoire Generale de la Radiologie, no's 57-59,Sept-Nov 1956). And radiotherapy also started early - "...Dr Hosking of Masterton set up a private plant with electrical treatment apparatus and a supply of Radium. Being a pioneer, his work was ridiculed, but before 1910 he showed a case of proved epithelioma of the lip. The lip was diagnosed microscopically, cured with Radium..." (C C Anderson, 1956). There is a lot of early documentation from around the country, much of it written up by Dr Colin Anderson, Radiologist, of Invercargill, and by Dr Cameron and others active in the early days. More into the hospital physics scene, I came across mention of "radiation dose" in roentgens in a Dunedin patient's notes dated 1932, which was not long after the original definition of the roentgen in 1928 (and extended in 1937). In the UK, professional hospital physicists were appointed from 1914 onwards, with early names such as Russ, Hopwood, and Mayneord. THE FIRST NZ HOSPITAL PHYSICIST: Our first full-time NZ hospital physicist, Warren Sinclair, started work at Dunedin Hospital on November 29 1945, just after completing an Otago M Sc (Hons)