In recent days, the 180-degree rotation beam treatment room, the domestic-made proton therapy demo facility is unveiled in Ruijin Hospital to take in the first batch of patients. The treatment system is the first of its kind in China.
Proton therapy is among the most advanced means for tumor treatment in the world. Proton therapy saves patients from operation in the course of treatment, and is provided with a list of merits such as target treatment, small side-effect, and well-being of patient. Besides conventional radiotherapy indications, proton therapy is especially suited for target treatment as of child tumor.
“On November 30 last year, the domestic made proton therapy demo facility, the first set of its kind in domestic China kicked off a clinical test in the Ruijin Hospital, and was then a stationary beam treatment system. As compared to it, the 180-degree rotary frame treatment system launched today is capable of multi-angle radiations on patient, with consequently improved treatment effect, lowered radiation damages of body tissues, as well as achieved purpose of target treatment. So to speak, in the sense of technical difficulty, the category of disease indications of the patients is thus significantly extended.” Chen Haitao, deputy director of the Ruijing Hospital introduces.
Mr. Sun Xidong, vice president of Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd, chairman and managing director of Shanghai APACTRON puts it, “We have earnestly realized the innovation of domestic and independently developed equipment. From the clinical trial unveiled on the 30th of November last year, to today’s proceeding to clinical trial of the most valuable 180-degree rotation treatment system, it is absolutely an important milestone. We will make all-out efforts with all fronts of this undertaking, to make it a true benefit for the broad mass in the earliest day.”
Mr. Dai Zhiming, director of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences points out, “The difficulty lies in not only the making of such bulk and heavy rotate frame, but more the assurance of alignment and sound stability. I felt it a real thorn when this was discussed for the first time several years ago. I don’t expect that, however, thanks to everyone’s efforts for many years, it does succeed! Inception of clinical trial of the rotation beam treatment marks the proton therapy of China’s entry into the front row of the world.”
As Mr. Zhao Zhentang, academician with Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Shanghai Optical Source Science Center holds it, for proton therapy, multi-angle and its controls of rotation beam is just the critical part of the technology, and is also an essential test for our research and development efforts as a whole.
Mr. Qu Jieming, CPC party secretary of Ruijin Hospital expresses his congratulations to the start of the clinical trial. He exclaims at the great odyssey which Ruijin medical people, together with the scientist team and MRO team have covered in the past decade, and and at the fact that all people involved have worked, united with one heart and with concerted action, in defiance of all difficulties, having brought out the rotation beam treatment room a successful reality for the treatment and healthcare of tumor patients and the great masses. Mr. Qu Jieming concludes: The treatment system is the long-cherished wish of scientific researchers and medical people of several generations.
As Ning Guang, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Ruijin Hospital introduces, currently Ruijin Hospital is engaged not only in the anti-epidemic work, but also in the research and development of domestic radiotherapy equipment; looking ahead Ruijin Hospital will move on with research and development of 360-degree rotation beam treatment system. We would devote ourselves to the performance of all sorts of clinical trials as required, so as to bring out our proton device a clinically effective therapeutic device which can provide reliable and efficacious treatments for China’s tumor patients, for the purpose of benefiting the tumor patient population, and earnestly honoring the idea “People First and Health First”.
“Currently, using fixed beam treatment room, we have completed treatment of 30 cases of human subjects, and will complete the treatment of another 9 cases as scheduled.” introduced by Chen Jiayi, director of radiotherapy department of Ruijin Hospital. “Today, all the subjects receiving the 180-degree rotation beam clinical trial have been discharged from the hospital, and will receive routine nucleic acid (NA) test and physical examination. The medical people have been working in closed loop inside the hospital 2 months ahead of schedule, have day after night the follow-up visits to the patients, hammer out the proton radiotherapy program, and constantly correct and optimize the treatment programs in light of update imaging examination results. We have done a big amount of preparatory work”.
The first case of the patient is a 67 years old resident from Songjiang District of Shanghai, a sufferer of spinal chordoma. With loci of such tumor being on centerline of human body, for the 180-degree rotation treatment system, proton beam flow meter can be chosen to get to the shortest distance from loci of tumor, so that targeted blasting on the tumor can be carried out, for the purpose of protecting health organs. The first batch of subjects for treatment by the rotation beam room have all completed of treatment, and all of them have good feeling.
According to report that, at present, proton radiotherapy systems successfully operating across the world are located mainly in America, Europe and Japan. In order to meet the domestic clinical needs, break the monopoly of overseas proton treatment technologies, and promote the development and industrialization of domestic proton treatment device, the “First Set of Domestic Proton Treatment demo facility” among Shanghai’s Independent Innovation and High-Tech Industry Key Project, jointly undertaken by Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Alliance Investment Co, Shanghai Institute of Applied Science (and Shanghai Advance Research Institute), and Shanghai APACTRON Co, was officially approved and kicked off construction in 2012.
