Project description
Advances in proton therapy for cancer treatment
Proton therapy is the most efficient form of radiation therapy where high-energy protons destroy cancer cells. It could be used as the primary treatment or in combination with surgery, chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Proton therapy is an important option especially in cases where tumours cannot be removed completely by surgery. However, this treatment option is limited by the size and expense of the systems. Currently only 66 operational proton therapy facilities exist in the world covering about 5 % of the demand. EU funding will support the industrial development of an ultra-compact high-performance proton therapy system. This involves optimisation of the laser proton accelerator and clinical validation of the laser proton performance to deliver a highly cost-effective device.
Objective
Cancer is a global problem with 14.1 million new cases occurring annually and an expected increase of 68% by 2030. Ensuring effective and safe treatment remains a significant challenge for healthcare organisations. Studies have shown proton therapy to be effective in treating many types of tumours, including tumours of the prostate, brain, head and neck, central nervous system, lung, and gastrointestinal system as well as cancers that cannot be removed completely by surgery. Proton therapy is the most advanced type of external-beam radiation therapy that uses protons at high energy to destroy cancer cells. Proton therapy can be used alone or combined with other treatments e.g. radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or immunotherapy. Proton therapy is routinely used for cancer treatment however it is limited by the sheer size and expense of the systems. There are currently only 66 operational proton therapy facilities in the world, addressing only 3-5% of clinical demand. HIL has developed an ultra-compact, high-performance system for Proton Therapy. HIL’s advanced particle accelerator and beamline technologies aim to make PT widely accessible by offering highly cost-effective single-room solutions. During the innovation project, HIL intends to scale-up the performance of the laser proton accelerator, customise the design of the delivery system, and clinically validate the laser proton performance. The project will also enable crucial commercial activities including implementation of IP strategy, communication strategy and scouting potential customers.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencestheoretical physicsparticle physicsparticle accelerator
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinesurgery
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncology
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunologyimmunotherapy
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinator
9139000 Jerusalem
Israel
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.