Elekta has inked a 15-year partnership to maintain cutting edge oncology and radiotherapy systems – including upgrading existing equipment to include Versa HD linear accelerators, a Leksell Gamma Knife Icon radiosurgery system, MOSAIQ workflow software and a managed services agreement — with Netherlands-based Isala hospital.

The deal with Elekta “will help us further our oncology vision,” Dr. Gabriël Paardekooper, chairman of the Isala radiotherapy department said in a statement.

He advised that upgrading existing linear accelerators will both enable state-of-the-art care as well as optimizing workflow, “since all devices will be equipped with identical specifications to increase flexibility and capacity.”
In addition, the installation of a Leksell Gamma Knife “will enable us to provide patients with brain cancer and complex neurological disorders with the most precise technology available," he added.

Francois Pointurier, Elekta's Senior Vice President, Western and Central Europe, stressed that the new deal “is founded upon an enduring and productive relationship” that aims not only to bring success to the two organizations, “but ultimately for patients receiving treatment."

Also in June, Elekta announced that the Leksell Gamma Knife Icon stereotactic radiosurgery system has been used for the first time in Canada. Dr. Arjun Sahgal, deputy chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, used Icon to treat a complex case of brain metastasis. The availability of a frameless immobilization option with Icon allowed this patient to be treated with SRS at Odette Cancer Centre, despite a condition that precluded use of a head frame for immobilization.

"After years of planning and fundraising, we are excited to be the first hospital in Canada to have installed and treated our first patient with Icon. The system allows us to offer our patients highly precise treatment and a more comfortable experience," said Sahgal.

In May, Elekta unveiled its MR radiotherapy system, Unity at the 36th European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) meeting.

The MR-radiation therapy system combines a 1.5 Tesla MR scanner with an advanced linear accelerator and intelligent software, allowing it to deliver radiation doses while simultaneously producing high-quality MR images.

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