Proton Beam Therapy

Hitachi is a pioneer in Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) technology and has been developing its own proton beam therapy system since1998. Hitachi has already supplied a system to the University of Tsukuba, in Japan. Since it began treating patients in September 2001, the system has quickly gained recognition for its high level of accuracy and reliability.

Proton Beam Therapy is a new type of cancer treatment. It is a localized form of radiation therapy, in which a proton beam is directed solely at a tumor lying deep within the body in order to destroy the tumor. When a proton beam is used to treat a tumor, the side effects are minimal compared with those of a conventional electron beam and X-ray radiation therapy. This is because the proton beam has little effect on the surrounding healthy tissue and only the cancerous cells are treated. Compared with surgical treatment and chemotherapy, the strain on the patient is reduced.

Proton beam therapy is drawing attention worldwide as a promising application for the treatment of a variety of difficult-to-treat diseases. In the United States, proton therapy is routinely covered and paid for by Medicare and other medical insurance plans. It also appears likely that it will be accepted for insurance coverage in Europe and Japan in the near future.

The entire Hitachi group has placed the Bio-Medical field as one of the company’s strategic business cores for the future. The business focuses on diagnostic and therapeutic systems that employ cutting-edge technologies, such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) cancer diagnosis and proton beam cancer therapy system. The Hitachi Group is also bringing into the global market equipment and related services in applied medical biotechnology, such as intelligent operating rooms, robot-assisted surgery, DNA sequencers and advances in tissue engineering.

Hitachi, Ltd. just announced that it is supplying a proton beam therapy system for the treatment of certain types of cancers to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), in partnership with Sanders Morris Harris Inc., a Texas-based investment banking firm, and The Styles Company, a developer and manager of hospitals and healthcare facilities, is building a proton therapy facility near the MDACC main complex at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas USA. The facility is expected to open for patient treatments in early 2006. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center anticipates that the facility will be capable of treating about 3,400 patients per year. Hitachi, Ltd., Japan, and its subsidiary Hitachi America, Ltd., will supply the major equipment (accelerator, beam lines, gantries, nozzles and treatment couches) for the facility.