Image courtesy of Hartford HealthCare.

Hartford HealthCare and the Yale New Haven Health System plan to build a $72 million proton beam therapy center in Wallingford.

Proton beam therapy is a highly targeted radiation treatment that uses protons rather than X-rays to treat cancer, and is only available at a handful of locations in the Northeast – none of them in Connecticut.

If regulators approve, the 25,000-square-foot center would be located at 932 Northrop Road in Wallingford. The empty parcel is just off Exit 15 on Interstate 91, with an urgent care facility and three hotels within a half-mile.

The two health systems selected Proton International as project manager and operator for the proposed proton facility. PI is an established and experienced developer and operator of proton centers throughout the country having helped to develop and operate multiple centers nationwide.

“Yale New Haven Health is proud and excited to bring this highly innovative technology to patients in Connecticut,” Yale New Haven Health and Yale New Haven Hospital President Richard D’Aquila said in a statement. “Our unique collaboration with HHC will allow us to care for patients with cancer in a new and effective way by bringing a life-changing therapy to our state.”

“This is a historic moment for cancer care in Connecticut,” Hartford HealthCare President and CEO Jeffrey A. Flaks said in a statement. “This is a truly innovative partnership that will bring our patients access to the most advanced treatment in the world, close to home.”