The Laboratory of Quantum Beam Science and Medical Engineering focuses on advancing research into the application of quantum beams in the medical field, aiming to realize next-generation diagnostic and therapeutic technologies through medical-engineering collaboration. Our efforts are conducted in close cooperation with the Proton Therapy Center and the Department of Medical Physics at Hokkaido University Hospital. Additionally, we actively pursue joint research with industry, driving technological innovation through academia-industry partnerships.

The laboratory is staffed by Professor Taeko Matsuura, Associate Professor Naoki Miyamoto, Associate Professor Seishin Takao (responsible for the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering), Assistant Professor Yue Chen, and Assistant Professor Kohei Yokokawa (concurrently appointed). The Laboratory of Quantum Beam Science and Medical Engineering at the Graduate School and School of Engineering, together with the Laboratory of Radiation Medical Physics at the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, work closely in guiding students.

Under this framework, PhD students, including working professionals, as well as master’s students from the Graduate School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, and fourth-year undergraduate students from the School of Engineering, collaborate to advance their research topics.

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The Laboratory of Quantum Beam Science and Medical Engineering collaborates with the following organizations to promote medical-engineering collaboration, including the sharing of research topics.

Under the Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (FIRST), a large-scale national project, we developed the world’s first proton therapy system by combining “real-time tumor-tracking technology” and “spot-scanning proton beam irradiation technology” through industry-academia collaboration. Treatment began in March 2014.

For more details, please visit the →「Proton Beam Therapy Center of Hokkaido University] Home page
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The Department of Medical Physics at Hokkaido University Hospital has its origins in the Endowed Medical Physics Division, established in 2006. This was followed by the establishment of the Department of Medical Physics and Engineering in the Graduate School of Medicine, and the first medical physicists in the Department of Radiation Oncology in 2013. In 2019, the department was newly established as a clinical division responsible for carrying out all medical physics tasks. Currently, approximately 20 faculty and staff members are affiliated with the department. The main clinical duties include treatment planning and quality control for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and proton therapy. Seven medical physicists, including Professor Matsuura, Associate Professor Miyamoto, and Associate Professor Takao from the Faculty of Engineering, lead the department, handling approximately 300 IMRT cases and 200 proton therapy cases annually. Additionally, the department is dedicated to the development of advanced treatment technologies through national projects and collaborates with the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering to train future medical physicists.