Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center at Froedtert Hospital begins patient treatments with Elekta Unity MR-linac
MILWAUKEE, USA, February 5, 2019 – Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) today announced that the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center at Froedtert Hospital, part of the Froedtert & MCW Cancer Network, treated its first patient using Elekta Unity MR-linac, a magnetic resonance radiation therapy (MR/RT) system. Elekta Unity combines two technologies – a high-field 1.5T Philips MRI scanner and a linear accelerator that delivers radiation therapy – to target the tumor, tailor the shape of radiation beams in real time and accurately deliver doses of radiation even when the tumor changes position, size or shape. The only high-field MR/RT system, Elekta Unity enables clinicians to see what they treat while the treatment is taking place and adapt the treatment plan based on the patient’s daily tumor status.
In January 2019, the Froedtert & MCW Clinical Cancer Center treated a 47-year-old patient with metastatic liver cancer using Elekta Unity.
“The prospect of more accurately delivering radiation therapy with fewer side effects gives Elekta Unity the potential to fundamentally change cancer radiation therapy, allowing this core treatment essential to many cancer regimens to be transformed into personalized precision therapy,” said Christopher Schultz, MD, FACR, Medical College of Wisconsin Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology, at the Froedtert & MCW Clinical Cancer Center. “Delivering higher doses of radiation while sparing healthy tissue will enable patients to complete their treatment in fewer sessions with minimized side effects. The ability to scan, plan and treat in real time has been the long-sought vision of radiation oncologists. These features of Elekta Unity make it especially promising in treating tumors that shift in size and shape in the body. As part of a global consortium, we are excited to have contributed to the realization of this vision and to offer this cutting-edge advance in cancer care to our patients.”
“The Froedtert & MCW Clinical Cancer Center’s ability to treat its first patient with Elekta Unity soon after receiving 510(k) clearance underscores the power of our collaborative and consortium-based approach to developing this transformative system,” said Richard Hausmann, Elekta President and CEO. “We extend our congratulations to them for achieving this milestone of making precision radiation therapy with Elekta Unity clinically available to patients. Elekta Unity will open the door to new treatment regimens, not only in cancers for which radiation therapy is typically used but also for hard-to-treat cancers that require new therapeutic approaches.”
To learn more, visit elekta.com/Unity.
Elekta Unity has CE-mark and 510(k) clearance but is not commercially available in all markets.
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About Elekta
For almost five decades, Elekta has been a leader in precision radiation medicine. Our nearly 4,000 employees worldwide are committed to ensuring everyone in the world with cancer has access to – and benefits from – more precise, personalized radiotherapy treatments. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Elekta is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm Exchange. Visit elekta.com or follow @Elekta on Twitter.