China unveils next-gen heavy-ion therapy accelerator

The first demonstration facility of China's next-generation medical heavy-ion therapy accelerator recently completed construction and is expected to enter clinical trials by the end of this year at the Huizhou Heavy Ion Medical Center in Guangdong province, marking a milestone in the country's precision radiotherapy.

Latest statistics from the National Cancer Center showed that China recorded around 5.15 million new cancer cases and 2.58 million cancer deaths in 2024, underscoring the urgent need for more effective treatment options.

The Second-generation heavy-Ion Medical Machine was developed by the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with its core technologies granted patents in the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea.

Compared with the first-generation therapy facility, the second generation is built on a series of miniaturization innovations. It reduces the footprint from 4,600 to 1,200 square meters, cuts energy consumption to about one-third, and raises annual treatment capacity from roughly 1,000 to up to 5,000 patients. These advances lower construction and operating costs, which in turn will bring down treatment fees and make high-end cancer treatment more accessible to patients.

Conventional radiotherapy uses X-rays, which scatter radiation and damage healthy tissue as they pass through the body. In contrast, high-energy heavy-ion beams deposit most of their energy precisely at the tumor depth, causing minimal damage along the entrance path. They also inflict irreversible double-strand DNA damage on cancer cells, significantly reducing the likelihood of recurrence. Therefore, heavy-ion therapy is internationally recognized as one of the most advanced forms of precision radiotherapy.

China's domestic heavy-ion medical program dates back to 1993, with the Institute of Modern Physics leading the effort. In 2020, the country's first fully domestically developed heavy-ion accelerator with fully independent intellectual property rights entered clinical use in Wuwei, Gansu province, making China the fourth country to develop and clinically apply its own heavy-ion therapy system.

Domestic heavy-ion units have since been deployed in cities including Lanzhou in Gansu province, Putian in Fujian province, Wuhan in Hubei province, and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. By the end of September, 10 facilities had been promoted, treating nearly 5,000 patients with notable clinical outcomes.

"The second-generation machine is a more compact, lower-cost, higher-throughput accelerator aimed at turning heavy-ion therapy from a service confined to a handful of flagship centers into a viable option for regional hospitals," Ruan Shuang, a researcher at the Institute of Modern Physics, said.

"If clinical trials go smoothly, it will pave the way for wider deployment of the system and broader access for patients," he added.