NIRS and Toshiba Complete World s First Rotating Gantry with Superconducting Technology for Heavy-ion Radirapy System

TOKYO and CHIBA The National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) (President: Yoshiharu Yonekura) and Toshiba Corporation (President and CEO: Masashi Muromachi) today announced completion of a light, compact, rotating gantry*1 at NIRS' New Particle Therapy Research Facilities*2. The gantry, the first in the world to use superconducting magnets, enables 360 degree irradiation of cancerous tumors.

The size of the equipment had been an issue in heavy-ion radiotherapy, since the accelerator and the rotating gantry, the major components that transport and adjust the carbon ion beam to generate high magnetic fields with large normal-conducting magnets. Adoption of superconducting magnets has achieved a more compact, lighter rotating gantry than the typical 25-meter long heavy-ion radiotherapy gantry; the gantry of the NIRS' system, with superconducting magnets attached to a cylindrical rotary body, 11m in diameter and 13m long (see Figure 1).

The new gantry can rotate the radiation port in a 360-degree circle and irradiate a patient from all directions, eliminating the need to tilt the treatment couch. The gantry can also deliver a concentrated dose of radiation by irradiating targeted tumors from multi-directions, since the beam's positioning and angle can be precisely controlled to avoid critical organs such as the spinal cord and nerves. The new gantry is patient-friendly in that it is expected to reduce not only patient stress during treatment but also the possibility of difficulties and side-effects caused by the treatment.

NIRS presented the development of the rotating gantry, together with the results of clinical trials and basic researches, at The 2nd International Symposium on Heavy-Ion Radiotherapy and Advanced Technology , an NIRS-sponsored symposium held at Akiba Hall in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward on Saturday January 9. The symposium was held to promote heavy-ion radiotherapy globally, and was attended by physicians and researchers engaged in heavy-ion radiotherapy in Japan and overseas.

LINK:	http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2016_01/pr0801.htm...
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