TOSHIBA ANNOUNCES COMMENCEMENT OF TREATMENT USING HEAVY ION THERAPY SYSTEM

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation has announced the commencement of treatment using a heavy ion therapy system supplied by Toshiba ESS in collaboration as a consortium with DK Medical Solutions, for the Yonsei University Health System (YUHS), one of the leading providers of medical services in Korea.

Toshiba ESS has supplied two rotating gantry-type treatment rooms and a horizontally fixed beam treatment room, the latter of which has now begun providing treatment. The treatment in the rotating gantry treatment rooms is scheduled to start later in 2023.

This system has several features, including saving energy and space, providing easy operation, and creating less waste, similar to the model delivered to the East Japan Heavy Ion Center at the Faculty of Medicine, Yamagata University by incorporating state-of-the-art technology provided by Toshiba ESS, this system is capable of three-dimensional, high-speed scanning irradiation and respiratory-gated irradiation. The company began installing the system in 2021, and after obtaining approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, treatment has now started.

Toshiba ESS developed this heavy ion therapy system through collaboration with the National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology (QST). In 2016, the world’s first rotating gantry-type heavy ion therapy system, in which its compactness was achieved by using superconducting magnets in beam lines, was installed at QST Hospital. With the company’s proven experience and technologies, this system was put forth in the international market, leading to orders from YUHS and Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea. The company also actively promotes order activities in the U.S. and China, where there is high demand.