Toshiba Medical Systems has received an order for its new rotating gantry irradiation system from Japan's National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba.
The system, which features superconducting magnets for carbon ion radiotherapy, offers higher accuracy and a better treatment experience than standard proton radiotherapy, Toshiba said.
Carbon ion radiotherapy accelerates carbon ions to about 70% of the speed of light and directs them to cancerous tissues, which it destroys at two to three times the efficiency of proton radiotherapy, reducing the number of exposures in the treatment protocol, the company said. And unlike proton therapy, the depth of the energy peak in carbon ion radiotherapy can be controlled, limiting the exposure of healthy surrounding tissues.
The development will be important in the fight against cancer and is worthy of the company's research efforts, Toshiba said.
