The unveiling took place recently at the Institute’s high-tech, purpose built Research Bunker at Liverpool Hospital.
Called an ‘Evening in the Bunker’, the event saw the Institute's most generous sponsors and supporters including Ingham Institute Ambassador and Channel 9 Today Show Co-Host Lisa Wilkinson, gathered at the Ingham Institute’s Research Bunker for the first initial viewing of the MRI-Linac.
A flagship project that will be a first for Australia and one of only three in the world, the Ingham Institute’s MRI-Linac combines an MRI scanner with a Linear Accelerator for research into cancer therapy and treatment.
Housed in the Ingham Institute’s high-tech Research Bunker located at Liverpool Hospital, the new technology is set to improve the precision and accuracy of radiotherapy.
Current radiotherapy practices are limited to account for changes that occur to the location and shape of tumours.
By combining an MRI with a Linear accelerator the Ingham Institute’s MRI-Linac system will enable a super-charged view of the tumour to ensure more precise and accurate treatment for cancer patients.
“Current cancer treatments don't take into account changes that can occur to the location and shape of tumours, which move as a result of breathing, swallowing and other normal body changes. The MRI-Linac will enable us to target the tumour with the radiation beam much more accurately in real-time, and have greater control over the radiation dose,” said Professor Michael Barton OAM, Ingham Institute Research Director.
The Ingham Institute’s MRI-Linac project is progressing rapidly with the first half of the technology, the Linac, installed and assembled and the purpose-built MRI scanner due to arrive in November.
Project completion is anticipated at the end of 2014 at which point the Ingham Institute’s team of highly specialised cancer researchers will begin testing and clinical trials, with a view to use the MRI-Linac as a new mode of treatment for cancer patients in the future.
The Ingham Institute MRI-Linac team includes some of the best medical minds in the world including Chief Investigator Professor Paul Keall, who hails from Stanford University in the USA, and Senior MR Physicist Dr Gary Liney who was recruited from the UK.
“Once the MRI-Linac is operational it will set a new benchmark for cancer treatment in Australia, with the potential to dramatically reduce side effects and improve patient cancer treatment outcomes for over half of Australian cancer patients," said Professor Barton.
For a detailed overview of how the MRI-Linac will revolutionise cancer treatment in Australia, check out the MRI-Linac animation on the Ingham Institute’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/inghaminstitute.
