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  • The Jules Bordet Institute acquires state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment

The Jules Bordet Institute acquires state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment

Press release (29/01/2020) 

The Jules Bordet Institute acquires state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment for increasingly precise and effective treatment

radiotherapyBrussels, 29 January 2020 - The Jules Bordet Institute, the reference centre in the fight against cancer, has signed a public procurement contract worth 22 million euros with the Elekta company for the supply of new high-tech radiotherapy equipment. Acquisitions made possible thanks to the support of the "Friends of the Bordet Institute" and that prepare the way for the Institute's move to a new hospital, the ‘New Bordet’, on the Anderlecht campus.

The acquisition of an accelerator combined with an MRI (MRI-LINAC), a first in Belgium
The Jules Bordet Institute's Radiotherapy Department is to acquire the MRI-LINAC Elekta Unity, a state-of-the-art device that combines high precision magnetic resonance imagery (1.5 Tesla MRI) and the treatment of tumours by adaptive irradiation using a linear accelerator (LINAC). The Jules Bordet Institute will be the first centre in Belgium to possess this technology. The MRI-LINAC is a revolutionary technology as it provides very comprehensive biological information and permits a very precise targeting of tumours, even in the case of tissues where the contrasts between a healthy environment and a tumour environment are difficult to distinguish.
Thanks to these guidance parameters defined by integrated imagery, the planned treatment is checked before it is commenced at the moment when the patient is already in position to receive it. If there is any movement or change to the environment, the system recalculates in real time the parameters of the dose to be delivered to the volumes targeted. The term used is "real time adaptive" radiotherapy. This incomparable calculation precision makes it possible to target and irradiate the tumour cells with a very high precision and optimal dose while saving more neighbouring healthy tissue. For the patient, this kind of ultra-personalised treatment using real time calculation reduces the risks of toxicity and the number of treatment sessions. This major acquisition, made possible thanks to the support of the "Friends of the Bordet Institute", opens up new horizons in the field of cancer research. The in-depth study of stereotaxic therapy used in combination with immunotherapy being just one example.

Two new linear accelerators and the upgrade of two existing accelerators
In addition to this revolutionary technology, the Jules Bordet Institute is also acquiring two new linear accelerators of the latest generation. When treating cancer with radiotherapy, the linear accelerator is the device that permits the irradiation of the tumours. The acquisition of this new equipment combined with the upgrade of the two current linear accelerators will make it possible to treat more patients with increased precision thanks to this use of the most effective technologies available. In addition, all these accelerators will be twinned, thereby allowing patients to transfer from one machine to the other when necessary (in case of maintenance).

A state-of-the-art Radiotherapy Department for the new Jules Bordet Institute
The two new linear accelerators, combined with the two upgraded existing accelerators, are now joining the Gamma Knife (Erasmus Hospital) and the intraoperative accelerator already present at the Jules Bordet Institute. The MRI-LINAC will be arriving at the new building during 2021 but very soon patients will be able to benefit already from technological progress thanks to the new high precision parameterization and computation software solutions provided by the new equipment. All this specialized equipment is preparing the way for the imminent move of the Jules Bordet Institute to the Anderlecht campus. The reference centre in the fight against cancer is continuing to pursue its mission of providing patients with equipment at the forefront of technology and the most precise and effective cancer treatment available.

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