by Michael Borden

This article is from in the October 2007 issue of DOTmed Business News. A list of registered users that provide sales & service can be found at the end.

You may think life is fast enough these days so the last thing we need is to speed things up. For a patient with a brain tumor, however, increasing the pace of electrons in a linear accelerator can mean the difference between life and death. Linear accelerators, or LINACs, utilize microwave technology for the application of external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer. They're among the newest radiation technologies available, delivering a beam of radiation with precision down to the millimeter, a significant advance in sparing healthy surrounding tissues and cells. The software capabilities of simulators have helped enable the creation of new advanced, targeted radiation treatments such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). Such cutting-edge treatments are changing the landscape of cancer treatment, reports Stanford Cancer Center, part of the Stanford University School of Medicine, which suggests that radiation therapy is an option for many more patients than ever before.
When cost is an issue, refurbished LINACs can be the answer

Such capability comes at a price, however. A 2006 linear accelerator with onboard imaging sells for about $1.5 million. Not surprisingly in times of constricting budgets, there's a large and vibrant market for used and refurbished equipment.

"A hospital can save us much as 80% on refurbished equipment, depending on its type and age and whether it comes with specific features like multileaf collimators and portal vision," says Kenneth Wolff, President, RS&A, a North Carolina provider of radiation therapy equipment. RS&A sells and services LINACs and simulators manufactured by Varian, Siemens, Nucletron-Oldelft, and Kermath.




"Treatment centers offer a critical service," Wolff says. "Radiation therapy doesn't permit downtime. Patients need you to be there and running all the time, any time." RS&A's refurbished linear accelerators and simulators go through a stringent inspection procedure with mandatory replacement parts and rigorous inspections before being resold to imaging centers and hospitals. The company employs 15 service engineers and service technicians.

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