Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) began with a vision. After the installation of the first proton cancer treatment institute in 1990, rumblings of the therapy’s success reached Hampton University president, Dr. William R. Harvey. Upon learning more about the treatment from a Hampton University alumnus, he assembled a team to assess the feasibility of what would become the largest free-standing proton therapy facility in the world.
At 98,000 square feet, HUPTI was the first proton therapy center with at-grade treatment rooms. Unlike the traditional solution for proton therapy, which involved installing massive equipment in enormous underground concrete vaults and required patients to traverse a dark maze of corridors for treatment, HUPTI’s above-ground design broke the mold, presenting an upbeat, light-filled option for patient areas.
Sources: WTKR channel 3 is a CBS affiliate in Hampton Roads, Northeast North Carolina, https://www.wtkr.com/team-3/hampton-university-proton-therapy-institute; Santec is a design firm located at 12th Street, Washington, D.C., https://www.stantec.com/en/projects/united-states-projects/h/hampton-university-proton-therapy-institute