Given the growing demand for technical and clinical advancements in the treatment of cancer, interest in proton therapy is on the rise, with more and more hospitals and cancer treatment facilities venturing into this area. Hitachi will continue to globally expand the healthcare business where proton therapy is its flagship solution, and contribute to cancer treatment around the world.
Overview of Proton Beam Therapy
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Proton Beam Therapy (PBT) is an advanced type of cancer radiotherapy. Protons from a hydrogen atom are extracted and accelerated up to 70% the speed of light. Its energy is concentrated directly on the tumor while avoiding radiation dose to the surrounding healthy tissues. PBT improves the quality of life for cancer patients since the patient experiences no pain during treatment and the procedure has very few side effects compared with that of traditional radiotherapy. In most cases, patients can continue with their normal daily activities while undergoing treatment. Because there are fewer side effects, PBT is expected to expand, especially for pediatric treatment.
Overview of Spot Scanning Technology
Unlike conventional scattering technology, spot scanning technology delivers narrow beams to the tumor and the complex tumor shape can be irradiated through repetitive beam delivery with quick position change. Spot scanning technology has been achieved by advancing the uniform quality beam extraction technology from the accelerator and beam control technology with high accuracy. Three primary benefits are: (1) more accurate irradiation which reduces the side effects to healthy tissues surrounding the tumor compared with irradiation from conventional double scattering irradiation; (2) patient-specific collimators and boluses become obsolete, shortening set up times for patients; and (3) high proton beam usage factor reducing unnecessary secondary radiation.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society’s challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761 billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
