Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > NPL unveils new equipment to make cancer treatment safer

Abstract:
A new piece of medical technology unveiled at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) today will help improve the success rates of radiotherapy cancer treatments. The new clinical electron linear accelerator (linac) will help ensure patients are treated with accurate doses of radiation.

NPL unveils new equipment to make cancer treatment safer

UK | Posted on November 15th, 2008

Radiotherapy treats cancer, by using ionising radiation such as high-energy X-rays or electron beams, to destroy cancer cells. Every hospital needs to ensure that its radiotherapy equipment is stable and accurate because delivering correct radiation doses is critical. If the dose is too low, the cancer may continue to grow. If it is too high, healthy tissue could be damaged.

NPL's new clinical linac's ability to provide highly stable beams and accurate doses will enable calibrations with smaller uncertainties. This will allow hospitals to deliver more accurate, and more effective, radiation doses to cancer patients.

The new facility helps the UK respond to a recent report from the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group (NRAG) which states that the UK has a huge gap between the number of people treated with radiotherapy and optimal treatment levels. The number of people treated is increasing by 100,000 per year but this is still far short of the number of treatments required. The aging population means that more people than ever will require radiotherapy treatment in the future and a 91% increase in activity is needed by 2016 to hit targets.

One of the benefits of the new linac is that it will greatly speed up the calibration process.

"The linac will vastly reduce the time it takes to calibrate equipment. Its new technology allows it to calibrate the full range of beam qualities currently in therapeutic use in the UK in a very short period of time," says Acting Managing Director of NPL Dr Martyn Sene.

Professor Mike Richards, the National Clinical Director for Cancer at the Department of Health stressed the importance of the facility today.

"The new linac at the National Physical Laboratory is an important step forward in the fight against cancer. Hospitals can now be confident that their radiotherapy instruments will be calibrated more accurately and efficiently than ever before."

NPL's new clinical linac is a £1.5 million government-funded investment. It will allow NPL scientists to calibrate hospital equipment against the UK's primary standard of absorbed dose using beams of ionising radiation identical to those used in hospitals. It has been manufactured and installed by Elekta, a UK-based supplier of radiotherapy linacs.

####

About National Physical Laboratory
NPL is a world-leading centre of excellence in developing and applying the most accurate measurement standards, science and technology.

For more than a century we have developed and maintained the nation's primary measurement standards. These standards support an infrastructure of traceable measurement through the UK and the world that ensures accuracy and consistency.

The NPL mission affects many aspects of our life. Good measurement improves productivity and quality; it underpins consumer confidence and trade, and is vital to innovation. We undertake research and share our expertise with thousands of organisations and individuals to help enhance economic performance and the quality of life.

Our services range for free technical advice, joint projects, training, secondments, problem solving, consultancy; contract research to highly accurate UKAS accredited measurement services.

The National Physical Laboratory is operated on behalf of the DIUS by NPL Management Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
National Physical Laboratory
Hampton Road
Teddington
Middlesex
TW11 0LW

Jim Sutton

084-568-01867
07969 631 499

Copyright © National Physical Laboratory

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

Flexible electronics integrated with paper-thin structure for use in space January 17th, 2025

‘Brand new physics’ for next generation spintronics: Physicists discover a unique quantum behavior that offers a new way to manipulate electron-spin and magnetization to push forward cutting-edge spintronic technologies, like computing that mimics the human brain January 17th, 2025

Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025

How a milk component could eliminate one of the biggest challenges in treating cancer and other disease, including rare diseases: Nebraska startup to use nanoparticles found in milk to target therapeutics to specific cells January 17th, 2025

Announcements

Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025

How a milk component could eliminate one of the biggest challenges in treating cancer and other disease, including rare diseases: Nebraska startup to use nanoparticles found in milk to target therapeutics to specific cells January 17th, 2025

The National Space Society Congratulates SpaceX on Starship’s 7th Test Flight: Latest Test of the Megarocket Hoped to Demonstrate a Number of New Technologies and Systems January 17th, 2025

The National Space Society Congratulates Blue Origin on the Inaugural Flight of New Glenn: The Heavy Lift Reusable Rocket Will Open New Frontiers and Provide Healthy Competition January 17th, 2025

Tools

New 2D multifractal tools delve into Pollock's expressionism January 17th, 2025

New material to make next generation of electronics faster and more efficient With the increase of new technology and artificial intelligence, the demand for efficient and powerful semiconductors continues to grow November 8th, 2024

Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024

Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project