Hospital Installs World's Smallest High-Energy Proton Beam

May 17, 2010 - The Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., has commissioned a proton beam accelerator specially designed for the Monarch250 Proton Therapy System the center is currently installing.

Based on technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Plasma Science Fusion Center, Still River Systems has created the world's smallest high-energy proton therapy accelerator.

According to Kenneth Gall, M.D., founder and chief technology officer, Still River Systems, the superconducting technology and synchrocyclotron's design is being built for a modern accelerator optimized for proton therapy. With a diameter of only 6 feet and a weighing 20 tons, this accelerator generates a 250 mega electron-volt (MeV) proton beam.

The Siteman Cancer Center will be the first center to receive this device.

For more information: www.stillriversystems.com