Connecticut Proton Center Opens, Delivering Highly Targeted Radiation Treatment

The center is designed to deliver highly targeted radiation treatment while limiting exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. | Photo Credit (all): Casey Carbone, DPR Construction

• Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health have opened Connecticut’s first proton beam therapy center in Wallingford. 
• The 25,000-square-foot facility is designed to deliver highly targeted radiation while reducing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. 
• Proton International served as project manager and technology partner; Yale Medicine and Radiation Oncology, PC will provide clinical leadership. 
• The center will treat a range of cancers and is expected to be especially useful when limiting radiation to healthy or developing tissue is a priority. 

WALLINGFORD, Conn. — Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health have opened the Connecticut Proton Center in Wallingford, bringing proton beam therapy to Connecticut for the first time. 

The 25,000-square-foot facility is a collaboration among the two health systems and Proton International, with Yale Medicine and Radiation Oncology, PC providing clinical leadership. 

The center is designed to deliver highly targeted radiation treatment while limiting exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. It uses proton beam technology to give clinicians greater control over where radiation is delivered, which the organizations said can reduce unnecessary exposure to healthy organs and tissue. 

The health systems said that precision can help lessen side effects, preserve quality of life and reduce the risk of long-term complications for some patients. Proton therapy can be used for cancers affecting the brain and central nervous system, eye, head and neck, gastrointestinal tract, liver, lung, prostate, spine and breast. It can be particularly beneficial for pediatric patients because it helps minimize radiation exposure to developing tissues. 

“Today marks a defining milestone for cancer care in Connecticut,” according to an article from Yale New Haven Health. Jeffrey A. Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare, said the center expands access to advanced cancer treatment closer to home. 

Chris Chandler, Chief Executive Officer of Proton International, described the project as representing “years of collaboration and a shared vision,” according to an article from Yale New Haven Health. 

The facility includes a treatment room, control room, patient exam rooms and clinical space. Physicians and other staff from Yale New Haven Health and Hartford HealthCare will work at the center. Proton International served as project manager and technology partner, overseeing development, construction and operational readiness. 

Proton therapy differs from conventional X-ray radiation by using high-energy proton beams that allow clinicians to better control where radiation is deposited. The health systems said that capability can help physicians deliver treatment to tumors while reducing radiation beyond the target area. 

The opening adds a new cancer-treatment capability for patients in Connecticut and the broader region through a collaborative clinical model involving two health systems and a proton therapy development partner. 

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