AccSys Delivers PL-7i Synchrotron Injector Linac for Proton Therapy in Japan

Pleasanton, CA - May 11, 1998

      Dr. Robert W. Hamm, President and CEO of AccSys Technology, Inc. announced today that AccSys has recently shipped one of its PL-7i synchrotron injector proton linear accelerator (linac) to Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi Works, JAPAN. The nit will serve as the injector linac for the proton therapy synchrotron which is being constructed by Hitachi for the Proton Medical Research Center, University of Tsukuba.

      According to Dr. Hamm, "This is the second synchrotron injector that we have shipped within the last five months for installation in a Japanese proton therapy facility. We believe that an AccSys linac has become the proton linear accelerator of choice for this important therapeutic medical application." AccSys installed the company's first synchrotron injector proton linac in 1989 at the Loma Linda University Proton Therapy Center in Loma Linda, CA where it continues to be used as a key component in a system that treats up to 100 patients each day. The unit for Hitachi is the fourth synchrotron injector proton linac that AccSys has built. In addition to the Tsukuba and Loma Linda installations, the company has supplied synchrotron injectors to the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (1996) and to Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (1997).


From left to right: Mr. Diago and Mr. Tonooka of Hitachi, Dr. Hamm and Dr. Robinson of AccSys, and Dr. Hirota of Hitachi in front of the packed and crated PL-7i synchrotron injector linac

      Therapeutic use of a precisely positioned beam of high energy protons improves physicians' ability to treat cancer and some benign disorders. Proton therapy is being used for patients who have cancers of the brain, eye, head and neck, spinal cord, lung, abdomen, pelvis, prostate and other sites, and for patients who have non-cancerous disorders, such as certain forms of macular degeneration of the eye, arterio-venous malformations in the brain, and benign brain tumors.

      AccSys Technology is the world's leading commercial producer of rf ion linacs. In addition to synchrotron injector linacs and custom linear accelerators for special applications, the company manufactures its PULSAR® and LANSAR™ product lines. PULSAR® systems represent the next generation of equipment for the production of positron radiotracers, which are used in medicine for research and diagnostic imaging. LANSAR™ units are powerful, compact neutron sources designed for reliable long-term operation in non-destructive testing applications.

      AccSys Technology, Inc. was founded in 1985 to commercialize advanced radiofrequency (rf) ion linac technology for applications in medicine, industry and research, with emphasis on developing an innovative system for producing the short-lived radiotracers used in medical positron imaging. AccSys has produced and delivered 17 rf ion linac systems worldwide since 1987.