HITACHI'S PROTON THERAPY SYSTEM NOW IN USE AT NATIONAL CANCER CENTRE SINGAPORE

Hitachi announced that it has delivered to National Cancer Centre Singapore ("NCCS") a proton therapy system, with which NCCS has completed the first patient treatment as of 11 August 2023.

This system, installed in the basement of the new building of NCCS with 24 floors above ground, consists of five treatment rooms, four with rotating gantries and one with fixed beam, equipped with Real-time image Gating system for Proton Therapy (RGPT) to treat tumours in motion due to respiration and advanced spot scanning technology to irradiate even tumours with complex shapes with high precision.

NCCS is a leading national and regional tertiary cancer centre with specialists who are experts in treating cancer. The new NCCS building which officially opened on May 18th this year, has increased capacity and expanded facilities dedicated to cancer treatment, rehabilitation, research and education all under one roof.

Hitachi provides products and services of particle therapy systems with higher performance and added value, which can be found in leading hospitals around the world, ranging from proton therapy systems, and heavy ion therapy systems to hybrid systems combined with the capabilities of proton and carbon therapy. With over 85,000 patients* treated to date, the systems have an excellent reputation for reliability.

Overview of Particle Therapy
Particle Therapy is an advanced type of cancer radiotherapy. Protons extracted from hydrogen atoms, or carbon ions are accelerated up to 70% of the speed of light. This energy is concentrated directly on the tumour while minimizing the radiation dose to surrounding healthy tissue. Particle therapy 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 to that of traditional radiotherapy. In most cases, patients can continue with their normal daily activities while undergoing treatment.