May 19, 2016 — Hitachi Ltd. announced that Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital (HKSH) has selected Hitachi to supply a two-treatment gantry proton beam therapy (PBT) system, the first in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The system will be provided through Hitachi’s subsidiary company, Million Hope International Limited (MHI). The order includes a 10-year contract for service and maintenance.
The PBT system will be installed in HKSH Eastern District Advanced Medical Centre, where the synchrotron-based accelerator has been positioned above the two treatment rooms in a space-saving, vertically-stacked design, ideal for tight, urban areas such as Hong Kong. The treatment rooms will be equipped with rotating gantries capable of treating patients with Hitachi’s Spot Scanning technology and is expected to be operational by 2020, marking Hitachi’s first PBT system order in Hong Kong.
Established in 1922, HKSH is a leading private hospital in a city well-known for the quality of its healthcare and is ranked among the best hospitals in Asia. It leads in advanced medical technologies, nursing care (with the oldest nursing school in the city), and patient-centric care, often regarded as the model of care within China. The new Advanced Medical Centre is part of HKSH’s expansion in eastern Hong Kong Island, consists of a 17-story clinical building on top of Hitachi’s underground PBT facility.
In December 2007, Hitachi cleared U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Premarket Notification Special 510(k) for spot scanning irradiation technology. The company proceeded to build advanced proton systems for MD Anderson Cancer Center (May 2008), Nagoya Proton Therapy Center (September 2013) and for the Hokkaido University Hospital Proton Beam Therapy Center (March 2014). In fiscal year 2015, three additional centers have also begun treatments in the United States.
Wyman LI, manager administration of Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital and chief operation officer of Million Hope International Limited, stated, “Our new facility will now be capable of one of the most advanced forms of cancer treatment, the first in Hong Kong. The Hitachi system, already in operation at world-class centers in Japan and in the United States, will allow us to provide highly sophisticated and effective treatment that has been previously unavailable in this region.”
Spot-scanning irradiation technology does not scatter proton beams as with conventional proton beam therapy. Rather, it repeatedly turns a narrow proton beam on and off at high speed as it progressively changes location to irradiate entire tumor volumes. Protons can be aimed with high precision according to the targeted tumors, even those with complex shapes, while minimizing the impact on nearby healthy tissue. Furthermore, customized equipment such as collimators and boluses are not required.
For more information: www.hitachimed.com
March 28, 2024 
