Building with proton therapy bricks

1 May 2021

A gigantic radiation machine revolving around you while you're all alone in a medical bunker: a treatment in the Leuven proton therapy centre can be pretty frightening for children. To familiarise them a bit with what will happen in the hospital, a Lego building set was devised. 

Professor Tom Depuydt, medical radiation physicist at UZ Leuven and driving force behind the project: “The attraction of LEGO building bricks is of all times. This set allows children to build an authentic model of the IBA radiation machine. It is important for children to stay calm during the radiation, to be able to execute the treatment as accurately as possible. When they are less anxious because they know what is about to happen, we also need less anaesthesia.”

Ella (12), patient at the proton therapy centre: “The building set will be a lifelong memory. I loved making it, it made the time in hospital go more quickly. And my relatives can see for themselves where I've been going every day for six weeks. My dad was secretly a bit jealous of my set with LEGO bricks.”

The education game is an initiative of PARTICLE in collaboration with IBA. The game came about thanks to sponsoring by Run for Hope, Kiwanis Leuven & Kiwanis Durbuy.

Read more about the proton therapy centre

Last edit: 21 May 2021