The Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center, located on the main hospital campus of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), represents the forefront of technological advancement in radiation therapy. The construction of the proton therapy facility was jointly funded by the hospital and the National Cancer Institute to meet the increasing medical demand for high precision radiation therapy provided by proton therapy. The proton radiation therapy program builds on more than forty years of pioneering work and experience gained by the physicians, physicists, and clinical support personnel at Harvard University's Cyclotron Laboratory where more than nine thousand patients were treated with proton therapy from 1961 to it's closing in 2002.

At the Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center protons (charged particles) are accelerated with a large magnetic field in a machine called a cyclotron. Large magnets help guide the proton beam to three treatment rooms.

• Two of the treatment rooms incorporate 110-Ton gantries. These 3 story high gantries can be rotated to aim the proton beam from various directions. In the gantry rooms patients lie on robotic beds that can be adjusted for precise alignment of targets contained throughout the body.
• The third treatment room contains two specialized "beamlines". The first beamline is specially designed to treat lesions contained in the eye. The second beamline is dedicated to high precision stereotactic treatments within the head.

At the Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center, there is a large research program aimed at improving current treatment techniques as well as developing new equipment and approaches. The center is proud to be a leader in the revolution of proton therapy.

To see a layout of the Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center >>>

To read about the different types of cancers being treated with proton beam radiation >>>