A new cancer treatment facility to test radiotherapy technologies has been announced by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
According to the body, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) has added a new facility to its Daresbury Laboratory, in the Liverpool City Region.
The UKRI makes specific mention that Varian Medical Systems will use the facility to ‘scale up the testing of its advanced linear accelerator technology’, called HalcyonTM.
This tech is believed to help clinicians deliver ‘accurate, highly targeted doses of radiation’. Cancers of the lung, prostate, breast, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and bone, are among those it can treat.
Testing on the radiotherapy machines, however, must be conducted in a protected environment.
Varian has reportedly been using the current infrastructure and premises in Daresbury for around two years, but more demand for manufacturing of the machines means there is a need to ‘upscale’ testing capacity.
As per UKRI, Andy Partridge, Vice President APAC EMEA Manufacturing at Varian said: “By working with STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, Varian will now produce and test many more HalcyonTM radiotherapy systems within the UK. This work leads to increased productivity, the creation of new jobs and supporting the development of cancer treatment.
“Our ground-breaking Halcyon system combines fast and high-quality treatments with comfort and convenience, all of which come together to optimise the patient experience in the fight against cancer.
“This collaboration is a fantastic platform for joint innovation and is already helping us to accelerate the development of new products and solutions for our customers.”
The new bespoke facility has also led to new jobs at both the laboratory and Varian’s site in Crawley.
Find out more at ukri.org.
