Australian Milestone

A big milestone in Australia as Elekta announces the first Australian-dwelling patient treated with its Unity MR-Linac system. In this Yahoo Finance article, the Unity MR-Linac is described as a magnetic resonance radiation therapy system that enables personalized precision radiation therapy through real-time visualization of the tumor during treatment. The patient was at a state in the cancer’s life where treatment wouldn’t normally be possible but was able to undergo drastic improvements thanks to the Linac’s precision and ability to pinpoint tumor spots while avoiding damaging healthy tissue surrounding it. The use of this method will undoubtedly open doors for more Australian patients to undergo treatment with this new and exciting medical technology.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

Should I Replace or Upgrade My LINAC System?

Having a shiny LINAC system in your clinic entitles you to benefits and services other clinics lacking this technology do not. Such a system is imperative when dealing with minute cancer situations and can not only give the medical staff an edge but also give patients a guarantee of quality others cannot. That said, a proper LINAC system is, quite obviously, not a cheap system to not only implement initially but maintain over time. At one point a clinician or technician may decide the time has come to upgrade to what’s best out there, but such a decision is not so black and white. This article should briefly outline why so.

What Do You Have?

When making the decision to upgrade, you have to look at what you have already implemented. What you have may actually be satisfactory despite being old. LINAC systems themselves are as pricy as one may expect but are also modifiable with different parts that make up the whole. Linear accelerators can be classified as defined by their part status. Essentially, your linear accelerator can be classified from older and lacking upgrades, through newer but lacking and older and possessing upgrades, to newer and possessing upgrades. Where your system lies on the spectrum indicates whether or not making upgrades is worth the cost when considering the competency.

What is Your Budget?

Depending on the overall budget and success of your clinic you may find it smarter to simply upgrade certain parts on your older LINAC system. If money is no object you can naturally swap out your system – even if it’s new – for a newer, more modern and up-to-date model. Having an infinite source of funds is most likely not the case for most clinics, so you must take budget into effect and decide if your system is old enough to really warrant a true upgrade. Remember, upgrading certain parts of your system will always be cheaper than an outright replacement, and going with used upgrades is still a viable and more cost-effective option.

Do You Have Time?

When replacing a LINAC system completely, time is of great importance. Upgrading certain parts on a system can take hours and can be done overnight, but swapping out an entire system can take much, much longer. Are you able to survive with such an important machine out of the office for so long? If your system isn’t too old and has competent upgrades, then it can be hard to justify that absence. Any experienced clinician understands his or her own office enough to know whether or not that absence is detrimental to overall clinic success.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

Happy Holidays!

Should I Replace or Upgrade My LINAC System?

Having a shiny LINAC system in your clinic entitles you to benefits and services other clinics lacking this technology do not. Such a system is imperative when dealing with minute cancer situations and can not only give the medical staff an edge but also give patients a guarantee of quality others cannot. That said, a proper LINAC system is, quite obviously, not a cheap system to not only implement initially but maintain over time. At one point a clinician or technician may decide the time has come to upgrade to what’s best out there, but such a decision is not so black and white. This article should briefly outline why so.

What Do You Have?

When making the decision to upgrade, you have to look at what you have already implemented. What you have may actually be satisfactory despite being old. LINAC systems themselves are as pricy as one may expect but are also modifiable with different parts that make up the whole. Linear accelerators can be classified as defined by their part status. Essentially, your linear accelerator can be classified from older and lacking upgrades, through newer but lacking and older and possessing upgrades, to newer and possessing upgrades. Where your system lies on the spectrum indicates whether or not making upgrades is worth the cost when considering the competency.

What is Your Budget?

Depending on the overall budget and success of your clinic you may find it smarter to simply upgrade certain parts on your older LINAC system. If money is no object you can naturally swap out your system – even if it’s new – for a newer, more modern and up-to-date model. Having an infinite source of funds is most likely not the case for most clinics, so you must take budget into effect and decide if your system is old enough to really warrant a true upgrade. Remember, upgrading certain parts of your system will always be cheaper than an outright replacement, and going with used upgrades is still a viable and more cost-effective option.

Do You Have Time?

When replacing a LINAC system completely, time is of great importance. Upgrading certain parts on a system can take hours and can be done overnight, but swapping out an entire system can take much, much longer. Are you able to survive with such an important machine out of the office for so long? If your system isn’t too old and has competent upgrades, then it can be hard to justify that absence. Any experienced clinician understands his or her own office enough to know whether or not that absence is detrimental to overall clinic success.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

Varian Radiotherapy Advancements

The VCA Pet CancerCare Centers chain just hit a milestone as 35 of its locations become the first to house Varian radiotherapy systems under a partnership between the chain and manufacturer. As claimed in this Today’s Veterinary Business article, VCA Animal Hospitals reported back in August that nearly 36 of the chain’s more than 930 locations would house the units and become branded as Pet CancerCare Centers. With this implementation comes new teams of board-certified oncology professionals to collaborate with a patient’s primary veterinarian. The goal of this partnership is to simply provide the nation with the largest network of veterinary-specific oncology centers that use the newest radiotherapy equipment with the hopes of leading the way in growth for the industry. The first several locations reside primarily in California with Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia also participating.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

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Measuring ERE with Gel Dosimeter

Radiotherapy treatment has continued to make huge progress especially after the introduction of MRI guidance systems. Although there are many advantages to this, there are unfortunately still obstacles that researchers are trying to understand more clearly such as the fact that in a high-field MR-linac, a strong magnetic field causes hot and cold dose spots which are better known as electron return effect (ERE). This specific phenomenon causes secondary electrons that enter a region of low density to be redirected back toward a high-density region that in turn creates larger dose into denser tissue. A scientific team has been experimenting with two Fricke gels to address this ERE issue. To learn more about this research, the article explains their process in the experiment and what research findings are showing to improve this issue in further radiotherapy treatments. 

Treating Cancer with External Beam Radiation

Cancer treatment has continued to evolve with new technology and knowledge on new innovative techniques to increase the effectiveness with fewer treatments needed. External beam radiation therapy is a form of treatment that aims radiation from a machine called a linear accelerator. The beam of radiation is aimed at a targeted area where tumor cells are found. This type of radiation therapy is a local treatment and treats the specific area in a person’s body such as lungs and not their entire body. There are several options when using external beam radiation therapy with all the same goal to deliver the highest dose of prescribed radiation to a tumor while protecting the surrounding tissue. Below each treatment type is explained more in detail.

3D conformal radiation therapy

This type of technique is a common option in radiation therapy in which it uses images from CT, MRI, and PET scans to create a precise plan for the treatment area. The process allows doctors to sculpt radiation beams to the shape of a tumor and often used in instances where the tumor is oddly shaped or if the tumor lies close to healthy tissue/ organs. The radiation beams can then be directed at the target from several angles as needed.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced type of 3-D conformal radiation therapy to treat cancer and noncancerous tumors. IMRT is used by multiple small photons and proton beams aimed at targeted tumor cells with varied, controlled intensity. During each treatment, the beam shape and the beam strength will continue to change to give higher doses to certain parts of the tumor as needed. Due to the greater level of accuracy, IMRT is a possible treatment option for patients that may have reached the maximum allowable dose from conventional radiation therapy with reoccurring tumors.

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)

Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) is a form of IMRT. What sets this type of treatment apart from IMRT is that it not only uses imaging scans before radiation sessions begin but also uses them during the actual radiation therapy session. Tumors can shift inside the body due to breathing or other body movements that can sometimes be hard to control. IGRT allows doctors to locate and track tumors during the procedure to deliver more precise radiation therapy. Technical adjustments can be made by the radiation oncologists when the tumor moves outside of the targeted area helping to limit radiation exposure that could damage healthy tissues nearby and decrease common radiation side effects.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

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Linear Accelerators Market to Grow to $3.9 Billion by 2024

A new study has been released indicating a massive growth in the market for the linear accelerators for radiation around the world. Forecasts predict growth in the market to $3.9 billion by 2024, which is up from $2.5 billion in 2019. This growth spans across several applications, such as hospitals and clinics to research institutes medical schools. Many large companies will see this growth including Elekta and Siemens as well as Varian Medical Systems and ACCURAY.

The objectives for this research are vast but one, in particular, is to focus on key global Linear Accelerators for Radiation manufacturers to define, describe and analyze the sales volume, value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in the next few years.

Whether or not these key manufacturers will be unchanged the same come 2024 remains to be seen.

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Cancer Treatments Future with Proton Beam Therapy

Two of the most common cancer treatments on the market are the conventional forms of radiotherapy and chemotherapy but there are two other types that are making progress for more possibilities in the future called proton beam therapy and immunotherapy. Advancement in medical equipment that is becoming more readily available is making these options more of a reality for many patients seeking treatment. Proton beam therapy is like radiotherapy in which energy beams of particles are targeted on a patient in the area where the tumor is located but it differs by using protons instead of photons or x-rays. In current treatments, the use of the MR-Linac machines has been successfully able to locate the position of the tumor and increase the doses in treatment due to higher efficiency. Once the technology becomes available for proton beam therapy, healthcare is expecting to see a large decline of waiting times for treatments to be performed. Although it is expected to still take quite some time until this new treatment to be ready for the private healthcare and even public, when it is finally ready it gives great hopes for making cancer treatments easier, less costly, and more survivable.

To read more about proton beam therapy in a recent article, click here

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Consideration When Buying A Linear Accelerator

Purchasing a new Linear Accelerator can be a very costly investment that can range between $1 million and upwards to over $5 million. This cost alone is not the only expected fees associated with this equipment since delivery charges and secondary equipment such as a simulator, treatment planning computer, the treatment room itself, and the compensation for the radiographers/ physicist salaries. There is a lot of options to consider when replacing or installing new radiotherapy equipment and a few helpful tips below may help make the decision process a little simpler.

The Resale Value

Before purchasing any new or refurbished linear accelerator, it is important to ask yourself the question “How much will my Linac system be worth if choosing to replace or upgrade it in the future?” The answer to this may affect your company’s ability to purchase equipment in the future so the best way to solve this is by three other factors. First is obsolescence, this factor will greatly impact the long-term maintenance of any equipment. As parts continue to get older, replacement parts will become more and more difficult to locate for obsolete equipment. This also will make service personal harder to find as well since they will not be as familiar with repairs on older machines. Research the manufacturing company and choose one that has been in business for a decent amount of time, If you feel the company will not be around in the next ten years it will most likely not have very good resale value.

Re-licensing Fees

When shopping for a new linear accelerator, if a machine requires new relicensing it will become more costly to a buyer hence making it less attractive for purchase. Providing the license on the equipment will increase the demand which will, in turn, make it have a higher resale value as well. Company’s such as Varian and Elekta have always had higher resale value because of the licensing fees/ software and relocation charges being less than their competitors.

Technology Reimbursements

The centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services utilize reimbursement rates to entice clinicians to accept the use of new, proven treatment for the future. For example, several years ago when CMS code 77421 was released, image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) became widely accepted and hundreds of linear accelerators were upgraded, therefore. A linear accelerator that has the technology to benefit from higher reimbursement rates which certainly affect the price of a machine in the market of used equipment. Systems that use IMRT, IGRT, and CBCT technology will lead more than machines without these capabilities. The future can be a mystery when attempting to predict which technologies will be reimbursed in the following years but company’s such as Varian and Elekta have a long history of systems that have the possibility for upgrades which has helped them increase in value on used products.
As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

China Tax Exempts Radiation Equimpent From US Trade

Great news has come for manufacturers Varian, Accuray, and Elekta this week when China added medical linear accelerators to a list of 16 items that are exempt from the trade war that is currently happening with the U.S. Both parties are continuing to negotiate terms this week. In the article president & CEO of Varian, Dow Wilson shows gratitude with statement “Varian envisions a world without fear of cancer and we are committed to empowering our users to achieve new victories against cancer with our cancer care solutions. The exemption allows us to continue to focus on the fight against cancer.” In July, the U.S exempted other categories of medical devices such as surgical, radiotherapy and dental from the 25% tariff applied to Chinese goods. The article concluded with the list of the 16 additional items that are exempt from the tariff tax as well. This recent decision will allow cancer treatment and other cancer solutions to continue to progress and save millions of lives in the near future.

Adaptive Radiation Therapy Could Be the Answer for Future Cancer Treatment

Throughout history dating back to the early 1970’s patients diagnosed with cancer would receive standard treatment plans that would simply be based off the type of cancer, the stage of aggression and if it was characterized by spreading to other locations or not. Cancer development teams quickly learned that this procedure was not an efficient process for treatment. A cancer cure is not a one size fits all and each patient is unique so why should their treatment be any different? One form of radiation treatment that is showing progress and good promise for the future is called adaptive therapy. This type of treatment takes a personalized approach where a patient’s unique characteristics are taken into consideration and adjustments are constantly being done based on information taken from images that are taken daily so factors like tumor size, shape, and location will be targeting more efficiently. On the downside, adaptive therapy has many obstacles that are needed to overcome before this treatment can be a successful option. In this article, it is discussed further on which steps will need to be taken for adaptive therapy to continue to progress to its potential. It may not a perfect treatment method currently, but it represents something bigger for the future of healthcare and personalized abilities.

What is Equipment Relocation?

Linear accelerators and CT simulators are large, that’s obvious. Any business who has obtained an accelerator understands the headache of moving such a large and delicate machine to their offices. When moving offices or simply needing to move an accelerator from one place to another there are companies that have staff on hand who are specialized in moving this equipment so you the business owner do not have to worry about how it’s going to get done. These companies offer a range of services related to accelerator relocation so there should be a service to fit any needs a business may have.

Quality Moving

The companies that specialize in moving large equipment are specialized because of the talent on hand. These employees are specially trained to handle large equipment moving with ease and delicacy that these machines require and can do so with advanced logistics that other companies do not possess. With these logistics intact these companies can ensure your equipment is free from damage of any kind during the moving process and can move the equipment over a small area to even internationally. You’ve no-doubt seen videos of unqualified employees attempting to move large equipment and failing miserably causing thousands of dollars of damage to the company, so it pays tremendously to hire a professional relocation company that can handle the move in a professional and careful manner.

Installation         

Simply moving equipment is great, but what about those who need it and moved as well as installed in their offices? Equipment relocation isn’t just moving equipment from one place to another but also making sure the instrument is properly installed using the correct tools for the job. The machines usually involved in relocation such as linear accelerators are simply impossible to move on your own, so the crews at these relocation companies are able to use specific rigging materials to make sure the equipment is lifted and moved to right where it needs to be as carefully as can be. The process of installing the electrical components of these instruments is also handled by professional and experienced engineering specialist who can handle the job with the proper care and respect.

Testing

Once an instrument like a linear accelerator is moved to a new location and properly installed in the right spot in the office it still requires careful calibration before it can be used properly. The companies that supply relocation services also provide physics support related to calibration and testing. This completes the full suite of process and steps necessary when transporting a large instrument like a linear accelerator from one office to another and is a full suite that certain relocation companies can offer.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

Key Points to Consider for Linac Removal

Removing a 25,000 lb piece of machinery from a medical clinic or hospital, what could go wrong? It can be crucial to other surrounding equipment and to your facility to have safe and efficient removal services performed so that your facility will have peace of mind knowing that this process will be handled correctly. A few tips below will help this removal process go more smoothly and will get you to the goal of out with the out and in with the new more quickly.

Removal Path

To start, cleaning of any removable clutter is always overlooked and can become an obstacle that can be avoided. Measuring will be the next step to take when its time to start moving any type of equipment. A tape measurer will be your best friend since when it comes to moving high or low energy linacs, each have a minimum requirement for the number of inches required for room clearance.  Accurately measuring all building doors including the vault and outside door along the removal path is very important. Prior to the arrival or replacement equipment, a professional vendor will request a rig info sheet to be submitted to guarantee that there is no door frames or walls that will need to be removed. If the vendor does not ask about the measurements beforehand, this is a red flag that you should be looking for equipment elsewhere.

Safety Concerns

When transporting heavy equipment at any times, the safety of the removal team is of utmost importance. If the above-mentioned measurements are done inaccurately and realize that a vault door must be removed with late notice, this will pose a very big safety hazard. Depending on size, vault doors can easily weigh a few thousand pounds and unfortunate deaths have resulted when removal of these doors have been done incorrectly. When they doors need to be removed, it is critical that they are removed by professionals that have experience in the field.  Last minute decisions for vault door removal will also cut into extra expenses that was not part of the company budget so it again if very important for the measurements to be calculated right the first time. Proper liability insurance should be provided by your vendor when on site during the removal process as well.

Loading Space

Once you have the old equipment outside the next step is often overlooked as well. The loading area needs to have enough space in order to load the linear accelerator into trailer for transportation. Facilities will typically need to block off any side streets or parking spots to allow a safe loading area. If loading space is unavailable, the removal team will need to utilize a forklift of suitable size to lift and move machinery to the trailer manually.

Facility Jobs

No matter the size or details of removal that is performed, there will be responsibilities of the facility that will be requested. Generally, the removal team will ask local facility engineers, electricians, or plumbers to turn off the water or other power sources that are attached to the specific equipment that is being removed. This will protect the office building from having potentially dangerous live power to the area and helps to not disrupt any of the surrounding rooms that lighting and power may be connected to as well. Many times, the facility will manage and schedule the removal times so that it is occurring after hours or assist in security throughout the building.
As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.

Improving LINAC Service Response Time

Linear accelerators and complex support devices are at the heart of today’s radiation oncology.  As technology continues to advance and change the way in which LINAC systems treat cancerous tumors, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage the way in which equipment maintenance, malfunction, and breakdowns are managed.  The strategies to manage quality, mitigate risk and analyze failures have improved to adjust to the changing needs of radiation oncology equipment.
Manufacturers of oncology equipment add guidelines to ensure successful management of equipment maintenance including system monitoring and cyclical measurements of key functions verse pre-specified tolerances.  This information was previously documented by hand whereas in today’s environment data can be recorded, distributed company-wide, and stored electronically. IT plays an integral role in storing and managing the data which can then be integrated into the everyday workflow in the radiation oncology department. 

Work to cultivate IT clinical management solutions in the radiation department is often done in house working in collaboration with equipment vendors.  This process is an essential component in quality management of radiation oncology equipment services.

Service and support of linear accelerators are a key element in quality management in the radiation oncology department.  In most facilities, radiation therapists will report all technical problems with the LINAC to a clinical medical physicist who then reports the events of the machine’s failure to the vendor’s dispatch center to schedule support.  When this call is made the therapist or physicist reporting the LINAC failure will provide the identification of the linear accelerator, the location of the machine, and a detailed report of the problem including what issues led up to the failure..
Depending on where the machine is located, the vendors dispatch center will provide information to equipment engineers at their technical support help desk.  Together the user and engineers will attempt to diagnosis the issue at hand and coordinate actions for repair.

Facilities looking to improve the efficiency of support and service to linear accelerators when failure occurs can implement key changes in the overall process.  These procedure modifications include:

• Lessen the number of steps involved in reporting the LINAC failure to the vendor’s support team.
• Reduce duplication and surplus in the diffusion of information related to the linear accelerators’ failure.
• Record events electronically for improvement and evaluation of delivering services related to LINAC maintenance and repairs.
• Utilize remote support from vendor approved engineers that are familiar with the installed system and its maintenance and service history.

As an independent LINAC service company, Acceletronics is dedicated to delivering the best equipment performance and services for linear accelerators and CT scanners across all major brands and models, as well as new and refurbished LINAC systems for sale.  More information can be found online at https://www.acceletronics.com/.