Using Agility™, Elekta’s latest MLC innovation, patients at
St. James’s University
Hospital were the first
in the world to benefit from this modern advancement in the treatment of
cancer. With twice the number of leaves typical of many standard MLCs, Agility
precisely sculpts delivered radiation to the unique contours of the tumor while
reducing the risk of exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
A multileaf collimator, a device made up of numerous
individual tungsten leaves, is commonly used to shape beams of radiation as
therapeutic doses are delivered from different angles around the patient.
“This truly represents a radical improvement in the way
we deliver radiotherapy, combining both speed and precision in tailoring the
radiation beams to the exact shape of the patient’s tumor,” says Vivian
Cosgrove, Ph.D., head of radiotherapy physics at St. James’s. “Agility
enables a faster delivery of advanced radiotherapy treatments. Reduced
treatment times will lead to a better experience for the patient and will
improve access to the technology for the benefit of more of our patients.”
The product of an extensive R&D effort by Elekta to
transform cancer care, the leaves of Agility are also capable of traveling at
twice the speed of other MLCs commonly used in radiotherapy. This unique
capability supports an added capacity for precision beam shaping as well as
shorter treatment times, increasing both patient comfort and the clinic’s
delivery efficiency. Moreover, relying on a new and innovative design, Agility
MLC has demonstrated extraordinarily low leaf transmission, to reduce the
patient’s non-therapeutic radiation exposure.
Recently, Agility was awarded the CE Mark, enabling medical
centers across Europe and other regions to
adopt the technology for their cancer patients.
“Agility’s versatility combined with the potential
patient benefits have generated much enthusiasm and market demand,” says
Olof Sanden, Elekta’s Executive Vice President, Europe
and AFLAME. “We look forward to many more cancer patients benefiting from
this breakthrough technology.”
Learn more at www.elekta.com/agility.
