Partners Royal Philips ($PHG) and Elekta ($EKTA) have started installing a high-field, MRI-guided linear accelerator system at The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam. The Institute is part of a consortium founded in 2012 by Elekta and Philips that's slated to make these sorts of systems, known as MR-linac, the standard of care for cancers that are not well controlled. The system uses a high-field MRI scanner to observe patient anatomy in real time, then it targets tumor tissue while minimizing exposure to the radiation beams for surrounding, normal tissue. "The clinical effectiveness of radiation treatment depends highly on the quality and accuracy of radiotherapy guidance and delivery," said Rob Cascella, CEO Imaging Businesses at Philips, in a statement. "In securing that quality and accuracy, MR imaging is emerging as a promising oncology tool for disease localization and quantification, therapy planning, treatment guidance, and therapy assessment. Through the collaboration with Elekta and the consortium partners such as The NKI, I am convinced that we have the prerequisites to make MR-guided radiotherapy a meaningful success for both patients and care providers." More
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