| Kikuo Umegaki, Dr. Eng. | Accelerators & Radiation Beam Application Systems Dept., Nuclear Systems Div., Power & Industrial Systems, |
| Kazuo Hiramoto, Dr. Eng. | Advanced Technology Business Solutions Div., Nuclear Systems Div., Power & Industrial Systems, |
| Nobuo Kosugi | Accelerators & Radiation Beam Application Systems Dept., Nuclear Systems Div., Power & Industrial Systems, |
| Kunio Moriyama | Nuclear Power Control and Instrumentation Systems Engineering Dept., Power Control Systems Div., Information & Telecommunication Systems, |
| Hiroshi Akiyama, Dr. Sci. | Accelerators & Radiation Beam Application Systems Dept., Nuclear Systems Div., Power & Industrial Systems, |
| Shunji Kakiuchi, Dr. Eng. | Advanced Technology Business Solutions Div., Nuclear Systems Div., Power & Industrial Systems, |
Proton beam*1 therapy is a type of radiotherapy that can provide tumors with a concentrated dose of radiation and is thought to cause fewer side effects.
After many years' concentrated effort in the field of acceleration technologies, Hitachi has developed one of the most advanced proton beam therapy systems in the world.
This system has been installed at the Proton Medical Research Center (PMRC) at the University of Tsukuba where it is used exclusively for providing treatment as a hospital facility, and it has already produced encouraging results.
We are also building a proton beam therapy system at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which is the one of the most famous cancer center in the whole of the United States.
By combining precise irradiation with short treatment times, Hitachi's proton beam therapy system allows patients to be treated without the pain normally associated with radiotherapy, and with fewer side effects.
In some cases it allows treatment to be provided on an out-patient basis over a period of a few weeks, which is just the sort of treatment needed in today's ageing society.
We have also developed a proton beam therapy planning system that allows treatment plans to be formulated accurately and quickly, resulting in an overall system that is both highly reliable and easy for medical staff to use.
| *1 | A group of protons (hydrogen nuclei) all moving in step with each other. |
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PROTON BEAM THERAPY |
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The Hitachi Hyoron (Japanese Only) |
proton beam therapy, synchrotron, cancer treatment, rotating gantry, respiration syncronous irradiation
