Northern Illinois University received Illinois regulators’ approval to begin construction of the state’s first proton-therapy cancer-treatment center.

The $160 million project, approved by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, will specialize in proton therapy, an alternative to conventional radiation treatment that zaps tumors using beams of high-energy protons.

“We’re talking about something that is absolutely unprecedented,” said Cherilyn Murer, chairwoman of the NIU Board of Trustees, quoted by the Chicago Tribune.

Proton therapy is by far better than conventional therapy because its energy can be more finely directed at a cancerous tumor. The therapy also releases less energy into the body and causes less damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

There are only five other proton therapy centers in the country. This is the first in Illinois.

The center that will be built in two years will treat as many as 1,500 patients a year when it is operating at capacity.

The facility will be located on the DuPage National Technology Park on Roosevelt Road and Fayban Parkway.

The university has not set a date to break ground on the facility, according to John Lewis, an associate vice president of NIU and the cancer center’s project manager. NIU’s financing on the project will be finalized over the next several months. However, Lewis said NIU so far had about $15 million to $20 million in secured funding for the center.