ITAR project aims to improve African radiotherapy access

Project ITAR (Innovative Technologies towards building Affordable and equitable global Radiotherapy capacity) brings together a multi-disciplinary and international team of experts to realise a new type of radiotherapy machine that is affordable and robust enough to be used in more challenging environments.

Smart meds dispenser wins RAEng Africa Prize

It is estimated that by 2040 there will be 27.5 million new cancer cases worldwide each year, leading to more than 13 million deaths. Up to 70 per cent of these will occur in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), including those in Africa with an acute shortage of radiotherapy machines.

There are currently 385 radiotherapy machines in the region, and 60 per cent of these are located in South Africa, Egypt and Morocco. A recent report published by the Lancet Oncology Commission estimated that by 2035 at least 5,000 additional radiotherapy machines would be needed to meet radiotherapy demands in Africa’s LMICs.

In the first phase of ITAR, which is funded by STFC and led by the Universities of Lancaster and Oxford, the team will define the persistent shortfalls in basic infrastructure, equipment and specialist workforce and develop new solutions leading to a detailed specification and conceptual design. ITAR will then progress to a prototype development phase of a medical linear accelerator for radiotherapy at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory.