Leo Cancer Care and Sumitomo Heavy Industries have formed a strategic partnership to develop an upright proton therapy system, combining Sumitomo’s compact accelerator technology with Leo’s patient-centric upright treatment platform. This collaboration aims to make proton therapy more accessible, affordable, and patient-friendly by reducing system size and improving treatment precision.
Strategic Collaboration Formed Between Leo Cancer Care and Sumitomo Heavy Industries for Upright Proton Therapy
MIDDLETON, Wis., Sept. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Leo Cancer Care, a leader in innovative cancer care solutions, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, a global pioneer in medical technology, have announced a strategic collaboration to introduce a new Proton Therapy configuration. This collaboration highlights both companies’ commitment to advancing the accessibility of proton therapy worldwide. The new configuration combines Sumitomo Heavy Industries’ latest compact cyclotron technology with Leo Cancer Care’s Marie® upright treatment solution including patient positioning and CT imaging.
While proton therapy has long been recognised for its precision in targeting tumors, widespread adoption has been hindered by the significant size, cost, and infrastructure requirements of conventional systems. Leo Cancer Care’s Marie upright proton therapy solution addresses these barriers by rotating the patient rather than the beam, meaning the technology is dramatically smaller and therefore more cost effective.
Upright proton therapy represents the biggest step forward in making proton therapy mainstream in a generation. Not only will it reduce the barriers of size and cost that have limited adoption for decades, growing research suggests remaining upright for treatment, our natural position, could support more consistent anatomical positioning while offering patients a more comfortable and connected patient experience.
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Sumitomo Heavy Industries’ decision to embrace this approach marks a pivotal moment for the industry. While a growing number of vendors are adopting the Leo Cancer Care technology, Sumitomo Heavy Industries’ leadership and scale bring unique weight to the movement to innovating this much needed treatment option.
“This partnership with Sumitomo Heavy Industries is about more than technology, it’s about patients, for us it always is. By combining our upright solution with Sumitomo’s compact cyclotron, we’re taking a major step toward making proton therapy accessible to the many people who could benefit from it.” “said Stephen Towe, CEO of Leo Cancer Care.
Toshikazu Hiasa, General Manager of the Industrial Equipment Division at Sumitomo Heavy Industries said “Through our technical collaboration with Leo Cancer Care, we aim to develop an optional feature enabling proton therapy in an upright position, in addition to our standard proton therapy system utilizing a rotating gantry. Achieving this will make proton therapy more accessible and patient-friendly, fulfilling our mission to enhance the quality and quantity of cancer treatment through medical accelerators.”
SOURCE Leo Cancer Care
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