Iran has carried out the test operation of the first ion therapy or particle therapy system, which uses this synchrotron to accelerate protons or Carbon ions to the speed of light to kill malignant cells.

The system was successfully tested in Iran�s Alborz Province with the attendance of the head of Iran�s atomic energy organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, and officials from Austria�s leading ion therapy center, MedAustron.

Iran already uses other photon and electron-based radiation therapy techniques, but the new method will result in secondary cancers, fewer complications, and less damage to other organs.

Only six such facilities are operating in the world and Iran will be the seventh to possess the technology. The project was launched in 2018 and has now made an 80-percent advancement, with experts from the Netherlands, Austria and Iran cooperating to get the job done.

Iran�s health officials say the project will be completed in a few months. Once inaugurated, they say, the hospital will be the only ion therapy center in the west Asia and will also admit patients from regional countries.

Officials say Iran has been trying to explore new realms of the subatomic world to diversify its nuclear industry. Experts say with this new center, Iran has put its name on the short list of countries that employ atoms and subatomic particles in cancer treatment.