Hitachi Expects to Provide at Least Three Proton Beam Therapy Systems in Europe Within Next 5 Years

MAIDENHEAD, England, May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Hitachi Ltd., a multinational corporation with an annual turnover of 90 billion, announces its healthcare expansion in Europe, focusing on specifically particle beam therapy system available both as a one or a multi-room system.

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"Having successfully delivered and installed state of the art proton therapy systems in Asia and in the US in recent years, we are focusing on Europe to help healthcare systems and universities and hospital networks address the growing demand for radiation cancer services. We are proud to offer systems with superior technology, unsurpassed industry reliability and the highest uptime in the industry to ensure consistent patient care" said Fumito Nakamura, Executive General Manager of Radiation Oncology Systems Division at Hitachi,Ltd.

Hitachi has been involved in the research, design and operations of both proton and carbon technology for over 20 years. The company, ranked among the top 50 most innovative companies globally, is known as the pioneer of the pencil beam scanning (the first to be FDA approved in 2008) in addition to IMPT and the real time image gated technology. Hitachi's system is based on synchrotron accelerator, which is recognised as a green solution in terms of energy efficiency, less radioactivity and default free operations.

Over 12,000 patients have been treated with the Hitachi proton therapy systems at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas, and other, globally recognised medical institutions in the US, as well as Hokkaido University Hospital, Nagoya Proton Therapy Center and Tsukuba University Hospital in Japan.

Recently, Hitachi proton beam technology was selected by additional hospitals including Sibley Memorial/Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital.

"We are already in close discussions with several hospital centers in a number of European countries. We see high interest especially for our new compact design of one or two room system, which can be conveniently expandable, if there is a future need," Mr. Nakamura concluded.

New particle therapy projects means additional staff hired locally are dedicated full time for operation & maintenance of the facility.

Hitachi Group employs over 11,600 people in 160 offices in Europe.

Hitachi will showcase its latest achievements and technology advances at the annual Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group (PTCOG 55) in Prague.