New era begins at PA Radiation Oncology as Linac replacement gets underway.
The new Varian Truebeam™ Linear Accelerator unwrapped and awaiting installation in the PA5 Bunker at the Princess Alexandra Hospital Radiation Oncology Department.
It’s finally here, our new Varian Truebeam™ Linear Accelerator (Radiation Treatment Machine) has been lifted off the boat, driven down the M1 and pushed along the corridor into the PA Radiation Oncology Department. So all we need to do now is plug it in right? If only it was that simple! The real work now begins as Varian’s expert engineers and our Medical Physicist team take on the installation and commissioning phase of the project.
Saturday the 1st of February marked an important milestone at the Princess Alexandra Hospital Radiation Oncology Department with the arrival of a new Linear Accelerator. This next generation radiation therapy technology is the first of four Varian Truebeam™ units scheduled to replace the centres well used fleet of Elekta accelerators over the next two years.
The change from Elekta to a Varian based system is a significant shift for radiation oncology personnel, requiring remapping of work processes and additional investment in staff training. However, while there are challenges, the move to Varian offers an opportunity to create synergies for the organisation with the alignment of equipment used at its Ipswich Road and Raymond Terrace campuses.
It is anticipated that the as this new radiation therapy equipment is rolled out there will be a noticeable gain in efficiency arising from optimising radiation therapy planning and treatment software and through hardware modernisation.
Additionally, the integration of Surface Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT) and other patient monitoring systems into the Truebeam workflow will facilitate the use of non invasive (tattoo free) positioning techniques and the adoption of open mask treatments for suitable head & neck cancer patients.
This will undoubtably enhance patient comfort and reduce treatment delivery times.
The installation & commissioning timeline for the first new Truebeam Linear Accelerator is scheduled to be competed by mid May with clinical operation commencing shortly after.
For further information about the Varian Truebeam Linear Accelerator please click on the link below.
https://varian.widen.net/s/7kc2jwlv7p/truebeam_brochure_rad10452a_may2022