NPL targets treatment

New equipment installed at the

(NPL) could improve UK cancer survival rates by more accurately calibrating the dosage delivered by radiotherapy equipment in hospitals.

Radiotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for cancer, and the targeted delivery of the precise dose of radiation is essential to ensure effective treatment without damaging the surrounding tissue.

This is especially true for head and neck cancers, where the dose must be within a few per cent of that required. Accurate dosimetry — the measurement of delivered dosage — can improve the outcome of treatment.

Radiotherapy is delivered using a linac, or linear accelerator. The UK primary standards for absorbed dose are defined using a calorimeter to measure the heating effect of the radiation in material.

The NPL has opened a dosimetry facility in Teddington, south-west London, with a Synergy model linac supplied by Swedish company Elekta, which manufactured the equipment at its Crawley facility. It features highly stable beams, accurate doses and the ability to be configured like different hospital linacs, which will speed up the process of calibrating radio- therapy instruments used in UK hospitals.