The Christie NHS Foundation Trust brings personalized precision radiotherapy to cancer patients with Elekta Unity
MANCHESTER, May 22, 2019 – Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) today announced that Elekta Unity, a transformative magnetic resonance radiation therapy (MR/RT) system that enables personalized precision radiation medicine, is in clinical use at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. Elekta Unity combines two technologies: a state-of-the-art 1.5T MRI scanner and a best-in-class 7 MV linear accelerator, driven by breakthrough real-time adaptive radiotherapy software. It provides the ability to reshape the dose based on daily changes in shape, size and position of the tumor and surrounding healthy anatomy, as visualized with MRI, and then enables accurate dose delivery with real-time visualization of the tumor.
“Tumors are mobile, and they can change in size, shape and location within the body as a result of treatment, disease progression or regression, and normal physiologic activity such as breathing and digestion,” said Professor Ananya Choudhury, Chair and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology at the Christie NHS Trust Foundation. “Prior to Unity, we did not have the technology to assess these changes on a daily basis. Unity provides an exciting new capability to provide patients with the best and precise cancer care possible. As the most advanced approach to radiation therapy, Unity gives us the ability to adapt treatment in real time to optimize radiation delivery to the tumor while sparing nearby healthy tissue.”
The Christie recently started treating its first patient using Elekta Unity. The patient is receiving treatment for prostate cancer.
“The Christie NHS Foundation Trust was a founding member of the global consortium that helped develop Unity. We are very enthusiastic about this new technology due to the ability to see what we treat in real time and the potential to improve our radiotherapy treatments,” said Professor Corinne Faivre-Finn, Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist and Professor of Thoracic Radiation Oncology at the Christie NHS Trust Foundation. “Not only will Unity allow more precise delivery of radiation in cancers typically treated with this important form of therapy, it will also open the door to using radiation therapy in hard-to-treat cancers. We are gratified to see our vision of next-generation radiation therapy realized today and available now to the patients we serve.”
“The continued clinical implementation of Unity helps Elekta to solidify our thought leadership in Precision Radiation Medicine and make a difference in patients’ lives,” said Richard Hausmann, Elekta President and CEO. “We are working with customers at leading cancer centers to make this transformative therapy available to their patients in the near term.”
To learn more, visit elekta.com/Unity.
Elekta Unity is CE marked and 510(k) cleared. It 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.
