Article
Status Report: Particle Therapy Centre of Marburg
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Published: | September 24, 2009 |
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Outline
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The RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG (RKA) builds a combined proton and ion beam therapy facility at the University Hospital of Marburg. The facility is based on a synchrotron accelerator that feeds four treatment rooms. The treatment of patients is supposed to start end of 2010. Status: The building for the facility is finished now. Most of the accelerator components are installed. The low energy part of the accelerator already works (for protons and carbons).
Intending to offer a highly effective radiotherapy for its patients in future, RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG (RKA) has designed a combined proton and ion beam therapy facility (= particle therapy facility). RKA is the largest private German hospital company with 48 hospitals at 37 sites having approximately 15.000 beds in total.
RKA installs the particle therapy unit at the University Hospital Marburg, one of the two sites of the new "Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg GmbH", a subsidiary of RKA. The facility consists out of four treatment rooms where three are equipped with a fixed horizontal beam line and one with an oblique (45°) fixed beam-line instead of a gantry.
The layout of the facility has been carefully designed for an optimal patient care keeping the inconvenient fixation time short and to yield a smooth patient flow (2000-2500 per year). Therefore spacious patient areas in a minimum distance between treatment rooms and preparation rooms will be provided.
The general layout of the building engineering and the civil construction were under the control of RKA. The technical engineering like accelerator, beam lines, scanning system and medical equipment is delivered by the Siemens AG (Particle Therapy group). Important technical properties are listed below:
Accelerator:
Synchrotron (design with 12 dipoles), LINAC (GSI-design)
Particles:
Protons 50–220 MeV ,
Carbons 85–430 MeV/u
Beam application:
Raster Scanning with active energy variation by synchrotron
Treatment field size:
20 x 20 cm2
Treatment rooms:
4 fixed beam (3 horizontal and 1 oblique with 45°)
Current status
The building for the facility is finished. The first staff members and the commissioning team of Siemens are using now the office rooms. The sources and the low energy part of the accelerator are running at specified performance.
The LINAC accelerator is currently commissioned. Most of the components and the cabling of the synchrotron and high energy beam line are installed. First beam from the synchrotron is planned for autumn 2009.
Project Schedule
contract with SIEMENS: 12 / 2005 passed
official start of project: 09 / 2006 passed
Preparation of building site: 03 / 2007 passed
Start of construction: 08 / 2007 passed
Start installation of accelerator: 08 / 2008 passed
Start installation of med. Equipment: 11 / 2008 passed
Building completed (all rooms usable): 05 / 2009 passed
Ion Sources and low energy beam line: 05 / 2009 passed
Currently: commissioning of LINAC: 06 / 2009
First beam in treatment room: 11 / 2009
Begin of clinical operation: end of 2010