Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute
| Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Shown in Hampton | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Hampton, Virginia, United States |
| Coordinates | 37°03′25″N 76°24′31″W / 37.0569°N 76.4085°WCoordinates: 37°03′25″N 76°24′31″W / 37.0569°N 76.4085°W |
| Organization | |
| Care system | Public |
| Hospital type | Specialist |
| Affiliated university | Hampton University |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | No |
| Speciality | Oncology |
| History | |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.hamptonproton.org/ |
| Lists | Hospitals in Virginia |
The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) is a non-profit cancer treatment center located in Hampton, Virginia that specializes in proton therapy. When Hampton began building its facility, there were only three centers in the United States. Currently, there are ten centers across the nation with Hampton being the largest of its kind in the world. HUPTI features four treatment rooms including four gantry rooms and one fixed-beam room.
HUPTI has treated over 1,300 patients with prostate, breast, lung, head and neck, brain, pediatric, pancreatic, and other cancers with what is considered to be the most precise form of cancer treatment to date. Proton therapy is able to target tumors with millimeter accuracy, while sparing surrounding healthy tissue and reduced side effects.
At the center of the facility is a 200-ton cyclotron that spins the protons at two-thirds the speed of light, sending the resulting proton beam down a beam line. Once the accelerated proton beam reaches the treatment room, it is prepared for treatment by a 90-ton gantry. The rotating gantry positions the patient such that the beam of protons is focused directly on the tumor for a two-minute treatment interval. Patients are treated every day for one to nine weeks, depending on the tumor site.
Administration
Keith Gregory serves as the executive director of the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI). Gregory has over 25 years' experience in oncology and began his journey in healthcare as a radiologic technologist. After spending time as a radiation therapist and a dosimetrist, Gregory taught physics/dosimetry before moving into the administrative side of healthcare. Gregory has led programs and service lines within St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the University of Tennessee Cancer Institute, New Mexico Cancer Center and the Riverside Health System. Gregory received an MBA from the University of Memphis and a Bachelor of Science in healthcare management from Southern Illinois University.
Medical Staff
Dr. Christopher Sinesi serves as the medical director. Sinesi has served thousands of patients in the Hampton Roads region for the past 20 years. He has developed radiation centers at numerous hospitals in Hampton Roads and North Carolina. Sinesi and his partners at Oncology Associates of Virginia have been named best in Virginia by Hampton Roads Magazine. Sinesi has also been involved with protons and heavy particle radiation since the 1980s. Sinesi, a Boston native, studied medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine and received a B.S. from Brown University.
Dr. Allan Thornton is an internationally recognized radiation oncologist with 25 years of experience in proton therapy with expertise in head, neck, pediatric, and brain tumors. He has served thousands of patients across the country at Harvard University (Massachusetts General Hospital) and the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy (formerly MPRI) where he served as founding medical director.
Dr. Andrew Chang serves as radiation oncologist. With over 12 years of experience, Chang has developed the pediatric oncology program and women’s health programs at HUPTI. Prior to joining the HUPTI team, Chang served as the director of pediatric radiation oncology at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute in Bloomingdale, Indiana. Originally from Anaheim, California, Chang has performed extensive research in the field of proton radiotherapy, stereotactic radio-surgery, and pediatric chordoma. A member of the American Board of Radiology, Chang has treated over 1,200 children. Chang earned his B.A. in biochemistry graduating magna cum laude from the University of California, and received his medical degree at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
Dr. Tyvin A. Rich serves as radiation oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal and lung cancers. With over 30 years of experience, many awards and over 200 published papers and book chapters, he is recognized nationally as one of the top doctors in his field by Castle Connelly and Good Housekeeping magazine. Rich received his B.A from Rutgers University and his medical degree from the University of Virginia, where he also served as professor of radiation oncology for 20 years. His postgraduate training includes internships and residencies at D.C. General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Mount Vernon Hospital & Grey Laboratory in England.
Development
The first suggestion that energetic protons could provide an effective cancer treatment was made by renowned scientist Robert R. Wilson in a paper published in 1946. The first treatments were performed at particle accelerators built for nuclear physics research, such as the Harvard Cyclotron Laboratory.
The first hospital-based proton treatment center in the United States was built in 1990 at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, California. This was followed by the Northeast Proton Therapy Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center.
Today, cancer treatment with proton therapy is on the rise with many new centers projected to open in the next decade. The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) is the eighth proton facility in the country and the largest of its kind in the world.
HUPTI began in 2005 as a vision of HU President Dr. William R. Harvey after hearing of this treatment modality from an HU alumnus. Several months after President Harvey initiated the process for establishing the proton center, he appointed a team to investigate and evaluate Hampton’s ability and interest in establishing a proton facility in Virginia.
The groundbreaking was held in July 2007 and HUPTI began treating patients in August 2010. To date, HUPTI has treated over 1,000 patients.