IBA showcases low-cost proton therapy

Belgium-based IBA (Ion Beam Applications) is hawking its two-room proton therapy solution this week at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) meeting as a smaller, lower-cost alternative to traditional proton therapy centers. The IBA configuration, dubbed Proteus Nano, starkly contrasts the often two-story proton therapy centers that occupy as much as 100,000 square feet. The company is framing Proteus Nano as requiring a much smaller footprint and imposing a lower acquisition cost, while still providing the highly accelerated proton beams needed to kill cancer tumors.