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Centre News and Events

New Elekta Synergy accelerator promises IGRT and IMRT at PRO in 2008

18th Apr 2008

Patients attending the Wembley site of Perth Radiation Oncology (PRO) now have access to a new Elekta Synergy multi-modality medical linear accelerator. This marks a major achievement for our practice leading into 2008, as Phase Two of the expansion and development works at our Wembley campus draws to a welcome conclusion. This new accelerator extends PRO clinical infrastructure with an ensemble of matured technologies incorporating the latest advances in modern radiation therapy, with programmes to deliver further improvements in targeted treatment delivery on the way. At the end of a four-month long installation process which included comprehensive commissioning, quality assurance and staff training, our dedicated team worked tirelessly to achieve nominal treatment capacity on the new machine as of 21 January 2008.

The Synergy platform retains the established target localisation technology for electronic portal imaging, and brings a further dimension to Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) with new capability for acquiring three-dimensional computed tomography images while in the treatment position. On-line image analysis and automatic position adjustments have the potential for regular tracking of internal organs, further enhancing our ability to deliver treatment accurately to mobile targets within the body which was not possible with previous technology.

As with three other of our modern Elekta linear accelerators, the new Synergy platform is linked by a high-speed digital network to computerised dosimetry calculations. Our updated information technology infrastructure also supports a medical electronic records and treatment verification database for added confidence in accuracy and precision of timely treatment delivery.

The smooth process of commissioning the new machine is testament to our culture of close multi-disciplinary collaboration between practice administrators, Radiation Oncologists, Biomedical Engineers, Radiation Oncology Medical Physicists and Radiation Therapists. Our joint efforts began with the design and construction of a new treatment wing, including a treatment room with radiation shielding designed for a high workload of machine-intensive procedures such as Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Following installation by Biomedical Engineers, our Radiation Oncology Medical Physicists acceptance tested and commissioned the new accelerator over twelve weeks to meet Australian and international standards for safety and functional performance. Throughout the long process, Radiation Oncologists and Radiation Therapists maintained the pace of treating our patients on four accelerators.

We have commenced a number of in-house clinical research and quality improvement programmes to exploit the improved capabilities made possible by the host of technology available to the practice. Early work on a programme of improving baseline accuracy and reproducibility of positioning in the treatment setup has already begun on a number of fronts, and work is expected to continue well into the future as part of ongoing practice-wide quality assurance. Programmes for an evidence-based IGRT approach for organ position tracking and efficacious delivery of IMRT are on the way.

Glossary
Image-Guided Radiation Therapy
... is a radiation treatment process that captures images (or other data) which represent the spatial extent and geometry of relevant anatomy while the patient in the treatment position, to enable radiation treatment to be delivered with enhanced accuracy and precision to mobile targets.

Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy
... is a radiation treatment technique that utilises independently moving "leaves" of highly attenuating material to customise the intensity of a radiation beam across the treatment field, so as to create dose distributions that closely conform to the shape of targets deep within the body.

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