Switzerland's Hôpital Riviera-Chablais Treats its First Patient With Elekta Unity MR-Linac

RENNAZ, Switzerland, Jan. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --  Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) today announced that Hôpital Riviera-Chablais in Rennaz has treated the first patient in Switzerland using Elekta Unity MR-Linac, a magnetic resonance radiation therapy (MR/RT) system that enables personalized precision radiation therapy through real-time visualization of the tumor during treatment.

On January 13, the site started treating its first patient using Elekta Unity. The patient received a hypofractionated (five fractions) treatment for a pelvic lymph node tumor. The 69-year-old male was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017 which has now spread, leading to a single lymphatic metastatic lesion that is just a few centimeters from his bowel and his left ureter. This lesion would be challenging to treat with traditional radiation therapy because of potential damages to the very radio-sensitive tissues of the bowel and the ureter near the lesion. They used a PSMA PET CT for the staging. 

"The ability to see the size and shape of the tumor and its position relative to nearby healthy tissue and organs is essential for improving radiation therapy outcomes," says Dr. Zohra Mazouni and Dr. Raphaël Jumeau, radiation oncologists at Hôpital Riviera-Chablais. "Elekta has been a reliable and trustworthy technology partner for many years, and we believe that Elekta Unity offers the most robust functionality of any MR/RT system. We are excited about its potential use to go beyond anatomy and provide insight into how the tumor is responding to radiotherapy at a cellular level. We believe that Elekta Unity will allow Hôpital Riviera-Chablais to remain at the forefront of providing our patients with precision radiation therapy approaches that are personalized to the specific characteristics of their tumors."  

"Elekta Unity will allow us to track tumor behavior and response during the treatment course, facilitating decision-making in re-irradiation cases," says Marc Pachoud, PhD, Head of Medical Physics at Hôpital Riviera-Chablais. "The system will be particularly effective for patients with tumors that are located in parts of the body that move during the treatment session, such as tumors in the gastrointestinal system, and those that undergo morphologic changes over time, such as head-and-neck tumors. Elekta Unity will become a signature technology at Hôpital Riviera-Chablais. We are proud of being the first center in Switzerland offering this approach to our patients."

Richard Hausmann, Elekta President and CEO said: "Hôpital Riviera-Chablais and its Interdisciplinary Cancer Service (SIC) have been long-term partners of Elekta and we are proud that our products have contributed to their success as a leading provider of cutting-edge and compassionate cancer care. While many may assume that these technologies are only available at large, university hospitals, Hôpital Riviera-Chablais is an excellent example of how the highest quality care can be provided in private or public clinics. We are pleased that, through their leadership, patients in Switzerland now have access to the most advanced MR/RT system available."

Elekta Unity is a new addition to the Interdisciplinary Cancer Service in Rennaz, which currently also includes a Versa HD™ linear accelerator.

To learn more about Elekta Unity, visit elekta.com/Unity.

Elekta Unity is CE-marked and 510(k) cleared. Not available in all markets.

About Elekta Unity

Elekta Unity is a state-of-the-art MR-Linac that is redefining a new standard for personalized radiation therapy based on real-time high-resolution anatomical and biological MRI at the point-of-care. Elekta Unity combines two technologies - a high-field 1.5 Tesla (T) Philips MRI scanner and a best-in-class 7MV linear accelerator - together with breakthrough online dose replanning software. The 1.5T MRI enables pre-treatment visualization of daily patient anatomy with superior soft-tissue contrast and high anatomical detail, with the benefit of zero imaging-related ionizing radiation dose to the patient. The online dose replanning software then provides the ability to reshape the treatment dose in minutes based on daily changes in shape, size and position of the tumor and surrounding healthy anatomy followed by accurate dose delivery with real-time tumor visualization.

About Elekta

For almost five decades, Elekta has been a leader in precision radiation medicine. Our nearly 4,000 employees worldwide are committed to ensuring everyone in the world with cancer has access to - and benefits from - more precise, personalized radiotherapy treatments. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Elekta is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm Exchange. Visit elekta.com or follow @Elekta on Twitter.

For further information, please contact:
Oskar Bosson,
Global EVP Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
Tel: +46-70-410-7180
e-mail: [email protected] 

Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Raven Canzeri,
Global Public Relations Manager
Tel: +1-770-670-2524
 e-mail: [email protected]

Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

Patricia Claivaz
Head of Corporate Communications
Hôpital Riviera-Chablais, Switzerland
Tel: + 41-79-151-12-56,
e-mail: [email protected]

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SOURCE Elekta