Beneficiaries & Partners
Beneficiaries
Cosylab JSC
Cosylab (COSYLAB JSC, Control System Laboratory) is a global technology company that builds and integrates state-of-the-art software and electronics for the world’s most complex, precise and advanced systems. It enables research organizations to discover scientific breakthroughs, hospitals to deliver better cancer treatment and organizations to improve their performance.
OncoRay
OncoRay – National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology is a joint cancer research platform of the Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf, the TUD Dresden University of Technology and the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus. OncoRay brings together cancer researchers from different disciplines and institutions for the benefit of patients. Its scientists are pursuing the vision of significantly improving the treatment of cancer by administering biologically personalised and technically optimised radiation therapy.
Paul Scherrer Institut
The Center for Proton Therapy CPT at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI is the world leader in the development and clinical implementation of Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS) and lntensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT), both of which have been pioneered at the PSI. Additionally, the first online adaptive PT CT-based workflow has also been delivered at PSI in 2023.
Brainlab
Brainlab – Transforming Digital Medical Technology. Brainlab has been innovating for over a quarter century in the areas of surgery and radiation therapy, developing hardware and software technology to help healthcare providers, physicians and their patients fight cancer and other conditions of the brain and body.
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is Britain’s largest and most popular university, with a distinguished history of academic achievement and an ambitious agenda for the future. The CRUK RadNet Manchester Unit of Excellence, in collaboration with the Christie NHS Trust, was one of only three major units awarded by Cancer Research UK, recognising our multi-disciplinary expertise in biology, clinical oncology, physics, software development, engineering and imaging. The University of Manchester and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust (one of the largest cancer centres in Europe) offer excellent research facilities.
Ion Beam Applications
University of Bern
The University of Bern is one of Switzerland’s leading comprehensive universities, comprising one of the largest medical faculties in Switzerland with a strong emphasis on practical relevance in their degree programs, an exceptional diversity of research topics, and a high level of innovation. Close links between basic research, the clinics, and engineering sciences create the optimal conditions for cutting-edge medical research and translation. The Faculty of Medicine is closely integrated with Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, which provides direct access to a large and diverse patient population. It is home to specialized centers such as the Department of Digital Medicine, which drives innovation in data-driven healthcare and equips future medical professionals with skills in artificial intelligence, digital diagnostics, and virtual care.
University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG)
The University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) is a leading academic hospital in the Netherlands, integrating patient care with high quality research and education in affiliation with the University of Groningen.
Høgskulen på Vestlandet
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) is a higher educational institution located along the western coast of Norway which also is one of the largest ones in the country with approximately 16 500 students and 1900 employees. HVL’s five campuses are in Bergen, Førde, Haugesund, Sogndal and on the island of Stord. The RAPTORplus doctoral candidate will be located at the campus in Bergen. Within proton therapy, HVL has a strong track record of hosting externally funded projects related to range and dose monitoring, and strong collaboration with both national and international proton therapy research environments.
Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München
The LMU Chair of Medical Physics offers a multidisciplinary and international environment with a broad range of research directions, largely pursued within a wide network of international collaborations on key topics in proton and light ion beam therapy. We provide an excellent research setting with access to state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies.
National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN)
INFN is the Italian research agency dedicated to theoretical and experimental research in physics. It promotes the use of fundamental physics instruments, methods and cutting-edge technologies developed at its own laboratories in many fields including medical physics. The INFN Section of Torino (INFN-TO) conducts research in close collaboration with University of Torino (UNITO), within a framework of national and international competition. The medical physics group has a long tradition of research projects on instrumentation for external beam radiation therapy. They provide an ideal environment to merge technological developments with basic science, training and transferable skills.
Politecnico di Milano
Politecnico di Milano is a leading European technical university, internationally recognized for excellence in engineering, architecture, and design, and distinguished by a strong tradition of innovation and research. The CartCasLab at the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering focuses on developing advanced technologies and methods for computer-assisted systems in high-precision radiation oncology, with particular emphasis on imaging-driven models, quantitative analysis tools, and personalized treatment optimization. The European project MINIONS (ERC Starting Grant, PI: Prof. Chiara Paganelli) is currently underway at CartCasLab, and the candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate closely with the MINIONS research team.
University of Navarra
University of Navarra (UNAV) includes the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), a non-profit, world-class general hospital. CUN’s clinical model integrates patient care, research and lecturing. All the professionals involved in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and research in CUN, as well as researchers in UNAV, are integrated into a Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCUN). CUN proton therapy facility is located in Madrid, it is currently one of the two Institutions providing proton therapy in Spain, treating patients both from Spain and abroad.
Research in Medical Physics is mainly focused on x-ray and proton radiotherapy: dose calculation methods, motion management, image processing, adaptive radiation therapy, physics and technology of proton beam therapy, microdosimetry and radiobiology. The Research Group of Medical Physics and Biophysics integrates researchers from the Service of Medical Physics in CUN, and from the Department of Physics and Applied Mathematics in the School of Sciences, UNAV.
Aarhus University - DCPT
The Danish Centre for Particle Therapy (DCPT) provides proton radiotherapy for patients with cancer and benign tumours. As the only proton facility in Denmark, we treat patients from all across the country in close collaboration with Danish oncology departments. We also treat patients from abroad if we have available capacity. The centre houses a comprehensive international research group. The group carries out pre-clinical-, experimental-, translational- and clinical research within radiation oncology, medical physics and radiobiology. DCPT also has an extensive clinical research programme with a focus on gathering clinical evidence to develop treatment. We work closely together across disciplines with a collective goal to deliver treatment of the highest quality, improve outcome and patient experience.
RaySearch
RaySearch is a medical technology company that develops innovative software solutions to improve cancer care. We are a committed pioneer. Our systems use groundbreaking automation and machine learning to create new possibilities for care and to increase efficiency for our customers and partners.
KU Leuven
KU Leuven is currently by far the largest university in Belgium in terms of research funding and expenditure (EUR 740 million in 2023), and is a charter member of League of European Research Universities (LERU). The proton center is fully integrated within the existing academic hospital. The center encompasses two vaults, with their own accelerator: one for the treatment of patients and one dedicated vault for research purposes. A Proteus®ONE system capable of pencil beam scanning is installed with the full scope of imaging modalities (kV-kV, CBCT), including an in-room dual energy CT on-rails.
Partners
The Steering Committee
Mark Pleško
Cosylab, Slovenia
Robert Jeraj
University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Thomas Bortfeld
Massachusetts General Hospital, USA