The first patient in the UK has been treated with high energy proton beam therapy (PBT) at Proton Partners’ new Rutherford Cancer Centre in Newport, South Wales – the UK’s first oncology clinic to provide such therapy for targeted tumour treatments.
Proton Partners International has partnered with IBA (Ion Beam Applications), a leading proton therapy solutions provider, and Philips. To plan patient treatment the solution integrates Philips’ Big Bore CT and Pinnacle3 Treatment Planning System. Rutherford Cancer Centre is also the world’s first to be able to carry out spot scanning, or ‘Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy’ (IMPT), with the Philips Pinnacle3 system.
IMPT lets radiation oncologists adjust the precision, depth, and intensity of a proton beam to the peaks and valleys of ‘complex spider-like’ tumours while avoiding healthy tissue.
The Newport facility houses a superconducting cyclotron Proteus ONE solution from Ion Beam Applications. Philips says the cyclotron’s compact design means it consumes less energy than similar technologies, in turn ‘minimising the impact on the environment, and reducing treatment costs’.
The Rutherford Cancer Centre also features includes Philips’ Ambient Experience, ‘an interactive, patient-focused healthcare environment designed to create a more comfortable and soothing experience for patients and staff’.
Proton Partners International is building a network of Rutherford Cancer Centres across the UK to provide cancer patients with proton beam therapy treatment, as well as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, imaging, and wellbeing services.
