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Rob Westrick: Elekta is a leading manufacturer of linear accelerators used in radiation oncology
in the treatment of cancer. Our equipment is used to treat over a million patients a
year. We are the fastest growing oncology business in the world.
This success is driven by a whole series of innovations over the last 40 years. Our latest
is a beam-shaping device we call 'Agility'. Rob Westrick: Agility is the fastest beam-shaping
device on the market today. It's twice as fast as its predecessor and this has the advantage
of greatly reducing the treatment time, which means the patient has to be immobile for a
much shorter period and the hospital can actually treat more patients per day. Rob Westrick:
Because of the speed of the treatment head, a higher dose rate can be delivered, so the
number of fractions can be greatly reduced as well. So the number of days that the patient
has to come to the hospital for treatment can be reduced as well. We launched Agility
18 months ago, and in that time we've sold 450 units in over 35 countries. Our devices
are improving the outcomes for patients and the experience they have during treatment.
And also it is of huge economic benefit to our hospital customers. David Roberts: Agility
is a multi-leaf collimator or so-called MLC. It contains 80 opposing banks of tungsten
leaves, and two tungsten elements that drive octagonally. Essentially these shape the radiation
beam to the tumour, to deliver radiation accurately. So the Rubicon-Optical technology - the technology
used to position the leaves, essentially uses industrial grade rubies, which fluoresce under
UV light. This fluorescence is then detected by a camera, which allows us to position these
leaves to sub millimeter accuracy. Giulia Thompson: I was involved with the project
from the very beginning. I still remember very well we were drafting the concept on
paper, about 7 years ago. So it was a very special moment for all of us, when the first
patient was treated with Agility, in Springtime 2012, at St. James' Hospital in Leeds. The
Physics input to the design contributed to solving certain technical challenges. In particular
we achieved very low radiation transmission through the leaves of the collimator, with
minimum dose to the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour, outside of the treatment volume.
And we achieved this, while maintaining at the same time, a compact design of the unit,
which ensures easy access for the patient. David Roberts: Many parts of the Agility Project
benefitted from Physics input, both from the early design phases, which involved computer
modelling. But then laterally in the control system designs. So we had input into the control
system algorithms, to accurately position the leaves and ultimately to calibrate the
MLC for patient treatment. Giulia Thompson: There are a number of physicists working in
Elekta in Research & Development and receiving this award is an important recognition of
the work they do - as well as the value of Physics in industrial innovation, particularly
medical developments. We get involved in some very exciting research and innovative technology,
but we apply our Physics skills to develop products that benefit patients all over the
world. This is extremely rewarding both on a professional and personal level. Rob Westrick:
After all this hard work, it is a huge honour to receive this award, and we are always looking
to hire new physicists and this really does increase the profile of Elekta.