China's domestically developed new-generation medical heavy-ion accelerator demonstration facility completed in Huizhou

Recently, the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that the first demonstration facility of China's domestically developed new-generation medical heavy-ion accelerator——the ultra-compact rotating beam heavy-ion therapy system—has been officially completed at the Huizhou Heavy Ion Medical Center in Guangdong Province.

It is understood that the facility integrates multiple transformative technologies, including a novel disc-structured milliampere-level high-intensity linear injector, an ultra-short-circumference high-repetition-rate synchrotron, and a high-performance intelligent rotating beam delivery system. It covers an area of only 1,200 square meters and is expected to have an annual treatment capacity of 2,000 to 5,000 cases. While significantly reducing construction and operation and maintenance costs, it will further lower patients' medical expenses and comprehensively help high-end medical equipment benefit the general public.

As an internationally recognized advanced precision radiotherapy modality, heavy-ion therapy, with its unique depth-dose distribution and relatively high relative biological effectiveness, can precisely target cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The system is particularly suitable for treating tumors that are unsuitable for surgery and insensitive to conventional radiation, and can effectively prevent cancer recurrence.

At present, the demonstration facility has fully entered the equipment testing stage and is expected to officially launch clinical trials by the end of 2026. As domestically developed medical heavy-ion accelerators have been deployed at ten sites across the country, with nearly 5,000 patients treated cumulatively as of the end of September 2026, the completion of this facility marks a key step forward in the upgrading of China's precision radiotherapy and ion radiotherapy industry.