The effectiveness of cancer treatment using particle beams such as proton beams and carbon-ion beams has been known in the field of medical physics for more than 70 years.
The feature of particle therapy is to utilize the dose concentration called Bragg peak. By irradiating the lesion location with the aligned Bragg peak, the dose concentration is focused on the lesion leading to minimal side effect on the surrounding healthy tissues.
Therefore, compared with traditional radiation therapy, particle therapy can lead to fewer side effects and patients can expect a higher quality of life after treatment. Behind the widespread use of particle therapy is the advancement of highly accurate irradiation control technology and dose planning / management technology for particle beams.
Hitachi has contributed to the technological development of particle therapy.

※This diagram is made based on the explanatory figure by the Particle Radiotherapy Promotion Group (P-RAP).（https://www.particle.or.jp/hirtjapan/en/medical/about/merit.html)