SAPPHIRE – Supra-African Physics Partnership for Health Innovation and Radiotherapy Expansion – is a collaborative research and training initiative working to transform cancer care across Africa.

We bring together physicists, engineers, clinicians, and institutions from Africa and the UK, in partnership with CERN and the International Cancer Expert Corps (ICEC). Our mission is to co-design and deliver fault-tolerant, sustainable radiotherapy technologies adapted to the realities of African healthcare systems.

SAPPHIRE focuses on:

  • Strengthening the medical physics workforce through training and mentoring
  • Collecting and analysing real-world data from LINAC machines
  • Improving the design of critical hardware components like the multi-leaf collimator (MLC)
  • Developing robust, smart LINAC systems suited for low- and middle-income settings

Together, we aim to build long-term capacity, reduce treatment delays, and expand equitable access to life-saving radiotherapy.