Particle accelerators don t come cheap.
Proton therapy equipment price.
But that calculus is changing.
Z92 3 edit on wikidata in the field of medical treatment proton therapy or proton radiotherapy is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue most often to treat cancer.
The equipment used for proton therapy initially carried a price tag of between 120 million and 200 million which gave many facilities pause lagasse writes.
Most proton beam facilities costs less 20 million to 150 million for single and multiroom facilities according to scott warwick executive director of the national association of proton therapy.
Proton therapy when compared to traditional radiation treatments can be four to seven times more due to the specialized equipment and expertise required to run the equipment.
A synchrotron the machine that speeds up the protons before they enter the body typically requires its own building and costs about 100 million.
For head and neck cancers proton therapy reduces patient weight loss and the need for feeding tubes factors that dramatically reduce the gap between proton and x ray therapy particularly toward the end of treatment.
Harder to quantify are the cost savings from the reduced side effects and reduced radiation exposure proton therapy offers.
The equipment required for proton beam treatment is massive and expensive.