Docrates Cancer Center started radiotherapy treatments with the new TrueBeam linear accelerator

In October, a new Varian TrueBeam 2.7 linear accelerator has been installed in the Docrates Cancer Center. After the installation, testing and official authorisations of the device, it was taken into use for patients on Friday, 15 November, 2019.

The new TrueBeam radiotherapy device is a completely digital motion management  system and, with it, the treatment couch, imaging equipment and treatment head itself move in an automated manner with precision and speed. For the patient, this means accurate radiotherapy and speed, and thereby a comfortable treatment experience.

For example, with the PerfectPitch ^TM6D treatment couch, the patient can be moved to the correct treatment position quickly and with precision. This is especially important when the treatment couch has to be moved several times in order to deliver the optimal radiotherapy.

Also the imaging equipment of the new radiotherapy device that is used for aligning the treatment is first rate. They enable, for example, respiratory-gated radiotherapy. In respiratory gating, radiotherapy is synchronised with the patient’s breathing rhythm, which decreases the inaccuracy of the radiation caused by breathing. Whereas in treatments that are administered when the patient is holding their breath (e.g. with breast cancer), quick imaging allows for the best image quality.

The TrueBeam radiotherapy device also enables real-time and automated monitoring of the area being treated which improves the accuracy of the treatments for prostate cancer.