DFW 220-ton proton accelerator first for cancer center

IRVING – The $105 million, 63,000-sf Texas Center for Proton Therapy has received a 220-ton particle accelerator — a milestone for what will be the first center of its type in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The center is currently under construction at 1501 W. Royal Ln. and is more than 85 percent complete. It is scheduled to open in late 2015 or early 2016.

About $51 million of the project cost is for equipment, with the accelerator being the largest of the medical machinery.

The center will bring proton therapy to the almost 7 million residents of DFW, the largest metro area in the nation without the form of advanced cancer treatment.

This magnet-packed accelerator, called a cyclotron is the second in the United States to have second generation technology, which consists of cone beam computerized tomography, allowing for a more precise treatment.

The next nearest proton treatment centers to DFW are in Houston and Oklahoma City.

Read more at the Dallas Business Journal.