The installed proton therapy system has three rotating gantry treatment rooms and one fixed-beam research room, according to the vendor. It features Hitachi's spot scanning technology for conforming a therapeutic proton beam to the shape of the target tumor.

In addition, it's the first system in the U.S. to include the firm's real-time gated proton therapy capability, which enables real-time beam irradiation to the tumor while compensating for movement associated with respiration, Hitachi said. Treatments began at the Johns Hopkins National Proton Center at Sibley on October 25.