No. 276: Hitachi’s cancer treatment system goes to the U.S. (May 11, 2011)

Hitachi got an order for its proton cancer treatment system from Mayo Clinic that is one of the leading clinics in the U.S. The order that covers the system and its operation and maintenance for a period of 10 years is about 20 billion yen. Proton cancer treatment is one of the cancer treatment systems using nuclear radiation. It destroys cancer cells alone by irradiating special beams to the tumor site outside the body. It can focus the radiation dose on the affected site more easily than X-ray to curtail the damage on normal cells. Hitachi will ship two systems. One is for Minnesota State and the other is for Arizona State. The system consists of one accelerator and five treatment rooms. IBA of Belgium is the market leader of the proton cancer treatment equipment, and Hitachi is strong in the technology to irradiate proton rather accurately responding to the shape of a tumor. Hitachi will start the construction work within the year and finish the delivery between the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2016. Mayo Clinic operates more than 70 hospitals and clinics across the U.S. Hitachi has delivered the system using the similar technology to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas State. With the big order from Mayo Clinic as a trigger, Hitachi wishes to increase the annual sales of its healthcare division that are currently 300 billion yen.