Proton Therapy Equipment Price

The equipment required for proton beam treatment is massive and expensive.

Proton therapy equipment price. The equipment used for proton therapy initially carried a price tag of between 120 million and 200 million which gave many facilities pause lagasse writes. Proton therapy when compared to traditional radiation treatments can be four to seven times more due to the specialized equipment and expertise required to run the equipment. A synchrotron the machine that speeds up the protons before they enter the body typically requires its own building and costs about 100 million. Without insurance proton therapy costs can range anywhere from as little as 30 000 to more than 135 000 without insurance.

For head and neck cancers proton therapy reduces patient weight loss and the need for feeding tubes factors that dramatically reduce the gap between proton and x ray therapy particularly toward the end of treatment. Particle accelerators don t come cheap. Particle accelerators don t come cheap. Most proton beam facilities costs less 20 million to 150 million for single and multiroom facilities according to scott warwick executive director of the national association of proton therapy.

Harder to quantify are the cost savings from the reduced side effects and reduced radiation exposure proton therapy offers.