Proton Partners International have announced that they and their partners Ion Beam Applications (IBA) Group have officially completed testing on the UK’s first high energy proton beam machine, the ProteusONE.

The official completion and acceptance of testing took place at the Rutherford Cancer Centre in Newport. This is the fastest installation of a proton therapy centre to date. The centre will bring the most advanced treatments in cancer care to South Wales and will start treating people with high energy proton beam therapy this month.

The single room ProteusONE proton beam therapy system, installed and maintained by IBA, offers the most advanced proton therapy technology on the market. Its compact design makes it easy to install, integrate, operate, and finance.

The system has a unique open gantry environment designed to ease the treatment workflow of the radiographers and to optimise the patient experience by providing a comfortable and calming environment. The system is equipped with Pencil Beam Scanning, which enables a highly precise scanning to minimise radiation exposure to healthy tissue. ProteusONE is much more compact than large multi-room system while bringing the latest technology in the room to ensure the most precise and efficient treatment possible.

Mike Moran, chief executive officer of Proton Partners International, said “We are thrilled that the UK’s first proton beam therapy system has been approved for treatment at our Rutherford Cancer Centre in Newport. Through working with IBA we have ensured that our centres are equipped with the latest cancer technology and we are extremely proud to be at the forefront of delivering innovative cancer treatment.”

Luk Herremans, Senior Vice President of IBA Proton Therapy, said “We are proud that acceptance testing has been completed within 9 months since the delivery of the cyclotron, a new world record. With ProteusONE, IBA makes proton beam therapy accessible to cancer patients at the Rutherford centre in Newport from March. We will continue to support Proton Partners International at each of their Rutherford centres as they transform cancer treatment for thousands of patients across the UK.”

The facility will treat up to five hundred people with cancer a year and the ProteusONE system will also be installed at each of the Rutherford Cancer Centres being built in the UK. Three more UK centres are currently under development in Northumberland, Reading and Liverpool.