Cyclotron for State’s First Proton Center Arrives at UAMS

By Marty Trieschmann

Completion of a $65 million expanded University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Radiation Oncology Center that will house Arkansas’ first Proton Center marked an important milestone Oct. 20 with the arrival and installation of the Proton Center’s cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator that serves as a key piece of equipment.

“UAMS is proud to partner with Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International to bring this groundbreaking technology to Arkansas,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA. “Arkansans will no longer need to travel out of state to receive this innovative treatment.”

Under construction at 3900 W. Capitol Ave., the Proton Center of Arkansas will offer an advanced form of radiation treatment that uses precisely focused protons to target tumors, rather than photons used in standard X-ray radiation.

https://news.uams.edu/2022/10/20/cyclotron-for-states-first-proton-center-arrives-at-uams/

Workers from Kinco Construction and Proton International carefully position the 55-ton cyclotron before lowering it into an underground vault. When installed, the cyclotron will power the proton energy beam that will deliver highly targeted proton radiation to cancerous tumors. Image by C.M. Smith Aerial Media

UAMS Breaks Ground on New Radiation Oncology Center, Will House First Proton Center in Arkansas

By Linda Satter

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) broke ground today on an expanded Radiation Oncology Center, which will be home to Arkansas’ first Proton Center.

The Radiation Oncology Center, part of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, already offers cutting-edge technologies to provide the latest radiation treatments. It will continue to provide those services, as well as new ones using the expanded capabilities of three new linear accelerators, as it relocates in 2023 to a new 52,249 square-foot-building facing Capitol Avenue, between Pine and Cedar streets.

The new three-story structure, located southeast of the BioVentures building, is being built primarily to accommodate a proton center — one of fewer than 40 that exist nationwide — in partnership with Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/05/25/uams-breaks-ground-on-new-radiation-oncology-center-will-house-first-proton-center-in-arkansas/

Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks Tuesday at the groundbreaking ceremony for the UAMS Radiation Oncology Center as UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, looks on. The expanded Radiation Oncology Center will house Arkansas’ first Proton Center, a partnership between UAMS, Baptist Health, Arkansas Children's and Proton International. Image by Evan Lewis