Professor Bradford Hoppe, the Medical Director of Particle Therapy at the Mayo Clinic Florida, visited the Heavy Ion Therapy Center at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital on January 24 to discuss the planning of the installation of equipment, calibration, training and clinical trials, research projects and collaborations. Following the visit of Dr. Beltran and Dr. Furutani on January 11, the particle experts representing Mayo visited Taiwan again, which is another step forward in Taiwan-US medical collaboration.

Superintedent of Taipei Veterans General Hospital Wei-Ming Chen said that the Hospital has the best radiotherapy team and the most advanced heavy ion equipment, and Mayo Clinic is also a world leader in cancer treatment. Together the two leading healthcare providers can create impact in many aspects. 

Vice President Wui-Chiang Lee, in welcoming professor Hoppe pointed out that there are already several hospitals in Taiwan offering proton therapy, but only the Taipei Veterans General Hospital has set up a heavy ion therapy centre, which is also the first carbon-ion equipment exported from Japan, and is expected to be officially opened in mid-May this year. Professor Hoppe's visit brings hope for a long term clinical and research collaboration.

Mayo Clinic is the world's leading medical centres, with its Proton Beam Therapy Centres in Minnesota and Arizona opening in 2015 and 2016 respectively, as well as a Proton and Heavy Ion Centre at the Florida campus. 

The first of its kind to be exported from Japan, the Heavy Ion Therapy Center at Taipei Veterans General Hospital began planning in 2009 and cost over NT$4.5 billion, including NT$2.25 billion in private donations. The construction of the main building and the accelerator base commenced on January 14, 2019 and completed on June 30, 2020, and on May 11, 2022 the facility officially licensed for use as a high-intensity radiation facility. The hospital expects the center to be ready for patients in mid-May.