Rose is first to be scanned with MR-linac

Superintendent radiographer Sheena Chauhan and patient Mike Thorpe.

A red rose, picked from the garden at The Christie by a patient, has been chosen as the first item to be scanned by the hospital’s new MR-linac radiotherapy machine.

The installation of the £5.3m machine was completed earlier this year and since then researchers at The Christie have been testing it.  The imaging part of the system is a vital component of the MR-linac and the successful scanning of the first item marks a major milestone in the development of MR-RT at The Christie.

The next major milestone for the project will be the first scans of a human body, which will be undertaken on a volunteer.  MR-linac clinical lead Dr Ananya Choudhury said: “The MR-linac is a flagship research project for The Christie using state-of-the-art experimental technology to deliver more precise, more personalised, more effective and kinder radiotherapy to our patients.  It lets us see tumours very clearly and treat them at the same time with pinpoint accuracy.”

See the full report on the front page of the November 2017 issue of RAD Magazine.