Cancer patients with hard-to-treat tumors now have access to an advanced form of radiation therapy in Gainesville. The Elekta Unity MR-Linac at the Radiation Oncology clinic at University of Florida’s Davis Cancer Pavilion welcomed the first patient on July 26. The sophisticated device, which required over two years of construction, installation and training, is one of only 42 in clinical use worldwide and the first in the southeastern United States.
The Elekta Unity’s real-time MRI capabilities allow physicians to plan and deliver precise, adaptive treatment, particularly critical for patients with tumors in the liver, prostrate, gastrointestinal organs and urinary and reproductive tracts. The innovative new system administers personalized radiotherapy by integrating MR imaging, linear accelerator technologies and advanced treatment planning into a single platform.
University of Florida pioneered MR-guided radiotherapy beginning with the work of Dr. James Dempsey, PhD, who in 2003 envisioned the ViewRay system, first with Co-60 gamma radiotherapy. UF held the patent before it became the Meridian Linac System. The Elekta Unity adds to the advanced technology for UF Radiation Oncology, which includes the Philips Ambition 1.5 Tesla MR scanner and Big Bore CT Simulator.
UF Radiation Oncology Professor, Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs and Medical Director Robert Zlotecki, MD, PhD has been invested in the Elekta system development since 2015. He says this latest technology provides more opportunities to improve radiation therapy and represents UF’s rapid investment in research and development of programs addressing the most challenging malignancies. The state-of-the-art machine can visualize changes in the tumor with each daily treatment and prove the biology of cancers by using predictive biomarkers of tumor response.
The result is safer, targeted therapy with less risk and less impact on patient well-being. Dr. Zlotecki says. “Truly transitional research can be achieved with this technology. This has an incredible quality of life and economic impact, not just for patients themselves but for our health care system as a whole.”
By Jennifer Kennedy