State of the art technology to speed up cancer treatment across North Merseyside
Posted 25th April 2022
Scientists and radiographers at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s Aintree site are preparing to provide treatment with a brand new, state of the art radiotherapy machine for people across the north Mersey area.
The machine, known as a linear accelerator or ‘linac’ has been installed and is being tested to provide tailored and precise radiation treatment for people needing radiotherapy for breast, prostate and other cancers from the end of the month.
A £2.2 million investment, the upgraded machine is more efficient, will provide higher quality imaging and is capable of faster radiation delivery which will provide faster treatments to many patients.
Carolyn Dooley, Principal Clinical Scientist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Medical Physics Expert for the project, said:
“We’re really excited to be welcoming this machine to the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre - Aintree. Often, people undergoing radiotherapy need to attend the hospital every day for a week at a time and so anything that makes their experience as good and as seamless as possible is a real positive.
“For example, when having radiotherapy, people with breast cancer are usually asked to hold their breath to help lift their chest away from vital organs so the fact that the new machine can deliver faster treatment is incredibly helpful.
“Technology moves on so quickly and as a team we’re looking forward to putting this state of the art equipment to use and providing great benefits to people’s experience of care.”
From installation to providing treatment, the machine, a Varian Truebeam®, goes through around eight weeks of measurements and testing by scientists, engineers and radiographers to make sure that the machine is safe and the radiation is able to be precisely targeted to each individual patient.
Julie Massey, Director of Radiation Services at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“This is a fantastic investment in radiotherapy services and will mean that our specialist team of radiographers can deliver the most advanced radiation treatment to anyone needing it.
“All our radiographers are trained in using the latest technologies which are generally more user friendly, more efficient and have more uses than previous models so anyone needing radiation treatment can be seen be any of our radiographers in either of our treatment rooms – removing any delay and ensuring a better experience for everyone.”
Before someone has treatment on the machine, they will have a planning CT scan, their course of radiotherapy treatment will be designed by expert scientists and clinicians involved in their care before the Linac machine is lined up to the precise measurements needed so that treatment is exactly targeted to each individual and area of the body.
The latest Linac machine will be ready to use from the end of April for people across north Merseyside and surrounding areas, including north Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens, west Lancashire and parts of Warrington and Halton.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Aintree opened in 2011 and is a dedicated radiotherapy centre as part of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, a specialist cancer centre delivering care and treatment from three main sites in Liverpool, Aintree and Wirral as well as networked services across Cheshire, Merseyside and the surrounding areas.
