OREANDA-NEWS. Toshiba Corporation and 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a strategic development company wholly owned by the government of Malaysia, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they will explore the introduction of Toshiba's carbon ion radiotherapy system to Malaysia.

The signing ceremony was held today in the presence Mr. Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan and Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The MoU covers two phases: an initial evaluation of the feasibility of the overall project followed by a study of the design concept. The MoU was signed within the framework of medical infrastructure package export strategy that the Japanese government is promoting in a public-private partnership.

1MDB aims to help create a sustainable Malaysian economy by investing in high impact projects in four core sectors: real estate, energy, tourism and agriculture. It is the master developer of financial and economic centre Tun Razak Exchange and is the second largest independent power producer in Malaysia.

Malaysia's economic growth and development continues to progress, with per-capita nominal GDP passing the USD 10,000 mark in 2012. This has spurred increasing interest in high-tech medical services, both in the domestic sector and to promote a continued increase in medical tourism, which is expected to become a USD 200 million market in Malaysia this year.

There are currently only six carbon ion radiotherapy centers in operation in the world – three in Japan and one each in China, Germany and Italy. Five new centers are under construction – two in Japan and China respectively and one in Austria.

Toshiba is a recognized leader in carbon ion radiotherapy. In Japan, the company has installed a cutting-edge system in the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), which takes the lead in developing and promoting carbon ion radiotherapy in Japan, and has also received an order from Kanagawa Cancer Center in Yokohama, which it is now fulfilling.

Carbon ion radiotherapy accelerates carbon ions to 70% the speed of light speed and directs them to cancerous cells. It is efficient at destroying cancers, which means patients have to endure fewer exposures. Another advantage of carbon ion radiotherapy is that the depth of the energy peak can be controlled, preventing exposure of healthy cells around the target site.

Toshiba and 1MDB signed a comprehensive MoU to investigate areas of possible collaboration in social infrastructure in October 2012. The carbon ion radiotherapy project is one of the fruit of this understanding. The two companies will continue to investigate potential areas of cooperation that will contribute to Malaysia's economic development.