Wakefield, Mass., June 10, 2020 – ProTom International is pleased to announce that it will install its Radiance 330® Proton Therapy System at the new Australian Bragg Centre, Adelaide, Australia. This center will be the first clinically dedicated proton therapy center in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, expecting to start operation in 2024.
This installation will include two gantries, one fixed beam line and a research port. The Bragg Centre will operate as a clinic as well as a research facility.
The Australian Bragg Centre is a purpose-built facility to be established within the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (“SAHMRI”) in Adelaide, South Australia. Work has commenced on the center, to be located within a new 15 story building (“SAHMRI 2”) in the $3.6 billion Adelaide Bio Med City – alongside the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, SAHMRI’s existing building, the University of Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building, and the University of South Australia’s Health Innovation Building.
The extremely precise nature of proton therapy allows radiation oncologists to target cancerous tissues directly with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. This makes it a valuable treatment option for tumours close to vital organs or those diagnosed in children.
SAHMRI Executive Director, Professor Steve Wesselingh, says the new building, adjacent to the institute’s existing site on North Terrace, will literally be built on the emerging cancer treatment technology of proton therapy.
“The three underground levels will comprise the Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research – which will house Australia’s first proton therapy unit,” he said.“Currently, people who need this life-saving treatment have to travel to the US, Europe or Asia at great personal expense.The building will be home to clinical researchers from across SAHMRI’s Women and Kids and Aboriginal Health Equity themes as well as our cancer programs.”
“In addition, we will commit a floor to researching artificial intelligence, machine learning, health informatics and health data analytics and will make another floor available for businesses from the health, biomed and pharmaceutical industries to gain a footprint in Adelaide BioMed City.”
The opening of the Australian Bragg Centre will bring “life-changing cancer therapy” and “a toxicity reducing treatment modality, especially in kids” to Australian citizens, according to Dr. Jay Loeffler, Chief of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Herman and Joan Suit Professor of Radiation Oncology and Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He congratulates everyone associated with developing the Centre for bringing proton therapy to the Southern
Hemisphere. Dr. Loeffler also commented: “We look forward to working with Dr. Michael Penniment (Director of proton therapy at the Bragg Centre) and the clinical team there, as part of the proton therapy community, and as members of the Radiance 330 user group, collaborating in the advancement of proton tomography and radiography.”
The Australian Bragg Centre is named in honorof Adelaide-born physicist Sir William Lawrence Bragg and his father William Henry Bragg who together won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1915 for their part in the development of X-ray crystallography.
Construction Underway At New SAHMRI Site
Construction has started on a second medical research facility in the city. SAHMRI 2 won't be another cheese grater, but will deliver cutting-edge technology, providing vital treatment for children with cancer.
Posted by 10 News First Adelaide on Wednesday, June 10, 2020
About Australian Bragg Centre
The Australian Bragg Centre is a $500+ million addition to the largest health and biomedical precinct in the Southern Hemisphere, Adelaide’s BioMed City. The Australian Bragg Centre will provide a focal point for research of international calibre into the treatment of cancer, a major cause of illness in Australia.
For more information, please visit: https://www.australianbraggcentre.com
About SAHMRI
SAHMRI was the first laboratory building in Australia to be certified as a Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Gold building. With the same high standards of design being applied to the SAHMRI 2 project, it is hoped that it will achieve a Gold rating on completion. SAHMRI 2 will be purpose built to house the world-class Proton Therapy facility, whilst the upper floors will be developed to showcase the best views and vantage points Adelaide has to offer.
For more information, please visit: https://www.sahmri.org
About ProTom
ProTom International is a leading device manufacturer of proton therapy technology. We are steadfast in our mission to transform cancer treatment by expanding the accessibility of proton therapy and by developing proton tomography technology.
Combined with the fast return on investment and the precision of pencil beam scanning and the power of integrated imaging, ProTom’s Radiance 330® proton therapy system is the choice for future proton therapy technology.
Contact us: https://www.protominternational.com/contact-protom
Press contact: press@protominternational.com
Download your Radiance 330® Proton Therapy System brochure.