Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it has reached a basic agreement to build a cancer treatment facility as part of an expansion of Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida.

At the forthcoming oncology unit, Hitachi will provide what will be North America's first carbon ion treatment facility, the Japanese manufacturer said. The company is expected to sign a formal agreement with Mayo Clinic in March.

Carbon ion therapy was discovered in the United States in the 1970s as a way to treat cancer, but there are currently no facilities capable of providing the treatment in North America, Hitachi said.

The company did not reveal the projected cost of the carbon ion treatment facility to be built at the Jacksonville, Florida campus.

==Kyodo

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