Latest Progress of "Cancer Treatment Weapon": HeYou Proton and Heavy Ion Equipment Officially Starts Installation

As a key component of HeYou International Hospital Group, the total budget for the HeYou Proton and Heavy Ion Center exceeds RMB 2 billion. At the end of 2021, HeYou International Hospital Group signed an equipment procurement agreement with Hitachi to introduce the internationally recognized most advanced and cutting-edge precision radiotherapy technology for tumors — proton and heavy ion radiotherapy, becoming the first clinical and research institution in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to be equipped with both proton and heavy ion radiation technologies; in November 2022, the HeYou Proton and Heavy Ion Project passed environmental impact assessment and occupational health assessment approvals; in May 2023, the building structure of the HeYou Proton and Heavy Ion Center was topped out, with a total construction area of 16,829.03 square meters and a building height of 17.2 meters, including three floors above ground and one floor underground.

The HeYou Proton and Heavy Ion Center will be equipped with an integrated proton and heavy ion system, capable of providing both heavy ion beams, primarily carbon ions, and proton beams. It will simultaneously construct one proton treatment room equipped with a 360° rotating gantry and two heavy ion treatment rooms equipped with three different beam incidence angles, with one additional treatment room reserved for future technological upgrades.

Furthermore, the equipment employs the most advanced pencil beam scanning and intensity-modulated irradiation technologies currently available in proton and heavy ion therapy, ensuring high conformality in treating irregular tumor target volumes. The real-time image tracking technology configured with the equipment effectively addresses tumor displacement issues caused by patient respiration, ensuring treatment accuracy, and the irradiation precision for moving tumor targets reaches the highest level among similar equipment.

Unlike conventional radiotherapy, proton/heavy ion beams possess a dose peak known as the “Bragg Peak,” which releases nearly all of their energy at a specific depth (i.e., the tumor site). Based on this unique physical property, proton/heavy ion beams can effectively deliver “stereotactic precision ablation” to deep-seated tumor lesions in the human body, minimizing unnecessary irradiation to normal tissues and organs surrounding the tumor and reducing harm to healthy tissue. Additionally, carbon ion (i.e., heavy ion) beams have a higher relative biological effectiveness, enabling more effective treatment of malignant tumors that are less sensitive to conventional radiotherapy.Compared to photon radiotherapy, proton and heavy ion therapy has fewer side effects, allowing patients to return to normal life more quickly after treatment.

At the same time, the HeYou Comprehensive Cancer Center is also being accelerated in its construction. In addition to the Proton and Heavy Ion Center, the Comprehensive Cancer Center will also include departments such as the Precision and Medical Oncology Center and the Surgical Oncology Center. Before the proton and heavy ion equipment is put into clinical use, precision photon radiotherapy services (i.e., X-ray) will be the first to be operational in June 2024.