Diversifying the Clinical Arsenal: Ackerman Cancer Center
Site Profile
Ackerman Cancer Center in Jacksonville, FL, is the first private, physician-owned practice in the world to provide proton therapy. Five oncologists treat a mix of physician referrals and self-referrals. In addition to proton therapy, the center offers patients a variety of diagnostics and advanced radiation therapies using devices such as linear accelerators and a GammaKnife. The proton therapy center was constructed as a 2,000-square-foot addition to the existing building and opened in April 2015.
Equipment
The center has a clinically operational MEVION S250 and is currently installing a MEVION S250i with HYPERSCAN.
Treatment Mix
47% - prostate
16% - head and neck
6% - lungs
5% - intracranial region
5% - breast
21% - other
Proven Results
Ackerman Cancer Center achieved the fastest per-room ramp-up in the history of proton therapy, and now has a throughput equivalent to as many as 420 patients per year. The center treats 40 proton therapy patients per day during a 12 hour shift, demonstrating that proton therapy can be a viable option for any size cancer center. Based on the success of its first Mevion unit, the center is now installing a second system, a MEVION S250i with HYPERSCAN pencil bean scanning technology.