Busan City Signs Contract for Dream 'Heavy Ion Accelerator' That Targets Only Cancer Cells

Online Signing Ceremony on the 31st between Seoul National University Hospital and the 'Toshiba-DK Medical Solution Consortium'
Busan Gijang-gun Heavy Ion Therapy Center to Establish System by 2023 and Begin Patient Treatment in 2025
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Busan City Hall building exterior.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The state-of-the-art cancer treatment device, the ‘carbon ion accelerator,’ to be introduced in the Southeast Radiation Medical Science Industrial Complex in Gijang-gun, Busan, has been decided.

Busan City announced on the 31st that Seoul National University Hospital, the lead organization for the carbon ion therapy center project, will sign a contract for this equipment with the Toshiba-DK Medical Solutions consortium.

The carbon ion accelerator from the Toshiba-DK Medical Solutions consortium is known as the highest-spec product among currently commercialized carbon ion accelerators, described in world-renowned academic journals as a ‘sharp marksman’ that destroys cancer cells.

The contract signing ceremony will be held remotely via a video conferencing system due to COVID-19.

From Seoul National University Hospital, key executives including Director Kim Yeon-su, Deputy Director Jeong Seung-yong, and Head of the Carbon Ion Accelerator Project Team Woo Hong-gyun will attend, while from the consortium, Toshiba President Hitazawa, DK Medical Solutions Chairman Lee Chang-gyu, and CEO Lee Jun-hyuk will participate.

The carbon ion accelerator is a treatment device that irradiates cancer cells with a beam of carbon ions accelerated close to the speed of light.

It has the ability to selectively kill tumors, making it possible to treat previously untreatable refractory cancers. It delivers most of the radiation dose to cancer cells while protecting normal cells to the maximum extent, significantly reducing side effects.

It is effective against major solid cancers such as lung cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, recurrent rectal cancer, and osteosarcoma.

For example, the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer increased nearly threefold from 15.5% to 39.8% with carbon ion therapy. While conventional radiation therapy required dozens of hospital visits over 2 to 3 weeks, carbon ion therapy has cases where early-stage lung cancer was treated in just one session, reducing the number of treatments to within 12 sessions. The treatment time is also short, about 30 minutes including preparation time.

The carbon ion accelerator to be introduced in Gijang has a ‘dose rate,’ which refers to the delivery speed and amount of the carbon ion beam per unit time, of 4 Gy/L/min. The ‘irradiation field,’ which indicates the area irradiated in one direction from the source, is also the world’s largest at 30cm × 40cm.

Additionally, it applies a state-of-the-art compact superconducting rotating gantry. The ‘rotating gantry’ can rotate 360 degrees around the patient, allowing the beam to be freely irradiated from any angle. Unlike before, there is no need to rotate the patient’s body to deliver the carbon ion beam.

The previously used rotating gantry had the disadvantage of occupying a large space equivalent to a 5-story building, with a length of 25m, diameter of 13m, and weight of 500 tons. However, the equipment contracted by Seoul National University Hospital this time has been drastically reduced to a diameter of 11m and weight of 280 tons by using superconducting magnets.

This carbon ion accelerator can treat and conduct research using two ion sources by adding helium as well as carbon.

Shin Chang-ho, Director of the Future Industry Bureau of Busan City, said, “Carbon ion therapy is the next horizon in cancer treatment, and the introduction of this carbon ion therapy system will faithfully fulfill that role,” adding, “We will accelerate not only patient treatment but also research and development to realize the best cancer treatment and make Busan a mecca of cancer treatment.”

Seoul National University Hospital was selected last year as the lead institution for the carbon ion therapy center project in Gijang-gun, Busan. The center plans to begin full-scale operation from the end of 2024 and start patient treatment from March 2025.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.