ENGINEERINGNET.EU -- The system will be installed at the Centre Antoine-Lacassagne (CAL), in Nice, France. A downpayment of EUR 1.9 million has already been received by IBA (Ion Beam Applications) and subject to fully approved financing, IBA can expect to receive a total of EUR 20 million for the equipment provided.
On top of this, a service contract has also been signed for a period of 10 years.
IBA is a pioneer in proton therapy – this non-invasive and targeted treatment modality brings major advances in cancer therapy for the benefit of patients. Thanks to its ultra-compact size, the system brings an ideal solution to the constraints linked to the limited space hospitals have to face.
This second-generation proton-beam system includes a Pencil Beam Scanning dedicated nozzle. Pencil Beam Scanning enables high-definition conformality to cancerous tumors and rapid dose delivery. It also enables clinicians to deploy an emerging proton treatment modality called intensity-modulated proton therapy.
The new system is complementary to the medium-energy biomedical cyclotron used at CAL since 1991 to treat eye melanomas. CAL clinicians expect to begin treating with protons in 2015.
Initially, CAL’s radiation oncologists will use protons to treat ear, nose, throat, base of the skull and pediatric cancers, before expanding their application to other cancers. This first installation and the joint validation of the new system will take place within the framework of a research collaboration between CAL and IBA.
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