GSI‘s Cave M was constructed to treat the first carbon ion therapy patients in Europe; the success of this program led to clinical transition at HIT, MIT, and elsewhere. Here  is a historic description of the setup for the pilot project

Today, Cave M features a close-to-clinic delivery system without any clinical constraints, and moreover state-of-the-art option for small animal irradiation. Most of the patient-setup equipment has been removed, and replaced by a beamline SARRP on rails and a general purpose experimental table

The application of the scanned beam is controlled by a research version of CNAO‘s dose delivery system, which we use to develop advanced motion mitigation and precision beam delivery strategies

Cave M is connected to the SIS18 both by a direct beamline and through the FRS. Ions delivered and scanned in Cave M include p, He, C, O, Ca, Fe and Au, but also mixed He/C beams and radioactive ion beams such as 11C. Cave M hosts the experiments for 2 ERC grants: BARB and PROMISE