Healthcare experts Philips and Elektra have announced they’re looking to enhance their partnership in developing precise and individualized oncology care. The expanded collaboration will build on their previous work in the field of magnetic resonance (MR)-guided adaptive radiation therapy, where the duo put its heads together to develop the Unity MR-linac (link in Dutch), which combines an MRI scanner together with a linear accelerator to generate radiation for real-time targeted treatment.
Traditionally, CT scans were only used during irradiation, because MRI is difficult to integrate with the linear accelerators needed to generate the radiation. As a result, the scans can only track organs as a whole, or through previously placed markers, but cannot image the edges of the tumor. The Unity system, however, uses MRI and can therefore monitor the tumor much better during treatment. This makes it possible to deliver a higher dose without putting additional stress on the surrounding tissue, which is expected to lead to fewer side effects.
“By deepening our already-successful collaboration with Elekta, we’ll accelerate towards our goal of providing clear care pathways and predictable outcomes for every cancer patient,” says Kees Wesdorp, Chief Business Leader of Precision Diagnosis of Philips. “Today’s announcement is an important next step in the implementation of our strategy in precision diagnosis.”
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