Tokyo, May 30, 2019 --- Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501) today announced that it has signed a contract with Himed Hospital Management (Xuzhou) Co., Ltd. (“Himed”), located in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China, on May 29 to deliver a particle therapy system with the capability of treating patients with both protons and heavy ions. This is the first overseas order for Hitachi's multi-ion particle therapy system. Given the system’s ability to generate both proton and heavy ion particle beams from a single accelerator, the hospital will have flexibility to customize treatment according to various tumor sites and patient-specific conditions.

The Himed facility will be equipped with one 360-degree rotating gantry room for proton therapy and three fixed beam rooms for carbon therapy, and include features such as real-time image-gated motion management to irradiate the targeted tumor while in motion and advanced beam scanning technology to irradiate tumors with complex shapes with high precision. Treatment planning software, also included in the scope of contract, will utilize imaging data and calculate the appropriate dose to prepare the most suitable, patient-specific treatment plans for each patient. The system will be installed at a comprehensive particle therapy center in Xuzhou city; Himed expects to start construction of the building within this year.

Multiple particle therapy sites are currently being built in China, and the number of particle beam treatment facilities in China is expected to increase in the future.

Hitachi has been proactively promoting its particle therapy business worldwide, supplying world-class facilities around the world with its highly reliable and proven particle therapy systems, which have treated more than 60,000 patients.

Hitachi will continue to accelerate the globalization of its particle therapy system business and its contribution to cancer treatment around the world.