The 8th"Maker China"Small and Medium sized Enterprise Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition National Finals,hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology,the Ministry of Finance,and the People's Government of Guangdong Province,was held in Dongguan,Guangdong Province from December 12th to 14th.The boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)project of Guoke Neutron Medical Technology Co.,Ltd.won the championship with first place and won the first prize in the finals.
  The Maker China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition is an influential national innovation and entrepreneurship competition brand aimed at cultivating and developing strategic pillar industry clusters and strategic emerging industry clusters.This competition consists of the finals,regional competitions,thematic competitions,and overseas regional competitions.There are over 37000 participating enterprises and team projects,attracting a total of 4323 specialized,refined,and new small and medium-sized enterprises and 828 specialized,refined,and new"little giant"enterprises to participate.
  BNCT is a radiation therapy that uses heavy particles generated by nuclear reactions between neutrons and boron elements in tumors to destroy cancer cells.It is a binary,targeted,and precise treatment at the cellular level that combines radiation and drugs.It is suitable for conventional radiotherapy such as infiltration,diffusion,and metastasis,as well as cancer that is difficult to treat surgically.It is considered one of the best methods for treating gliomas,head and neck cancers,and melanoma.With the development of a new generation of boron containing drugs,the scope of indications of BNCT will continue to expand.At present,it is trying to treat liver cancer,lung cancer,pancreatic cancer,breast cancer and other tumors.
  In order to promote the clinical application of BNCT,in 2022,Guoke Neutron launched its first BNCT clinical equipment at Dongguan People's Hospital,creating a key demonstration project.At present,the device is undergoing final assembly and debugging,and clinical trials will be conducted in the first half of 2024.It is expected to be put into use by the end of next year.