One of Ireland's top cancer hospitals is to treat 700 more patients a year with new state-of-the-art technology, it was announced today.
Investment in new technology will allow St Luke's to treat 700 more cancer patients a year
St Luke's Hospital in Dublin - the country's largest radiotherapy centre - confirmed a €13 million investment in the latest specialist treatment equipment.
Two new linear accelerators (Linacs), the machines used to deliver radiotherapy treatment, and the replacement of another two will see quicker treatment for more patients, the hospital said.
The equipment uses Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) for the the most accurate and effective concentration of radiation treatment on cancerous tumours. The Rathgar-based hospital will be the first in Ireland to use the technology.
Professor John Armstrong, consultant radiation oncologist at St Luke's, said the sophisticated machinery will significantly improve patient care and survival rates.
"Image-guided radiation means that the linear accelerator that gives the radiation has a sophisticated machine attached to it that can take a 3D picture of the part of the patient being treated before the radiation beam is switched on each day," he said.
"If the tumour is in the wrong position, then the treatment can be adjusted. "Advances in radiation technology have improved survival and quality of life for cancer patients. This new equipment we are buying at St Luke's is another important step forward in the process," he added.
Padraic White, St Luke's chairman, said an international leading supplier of the Linac machines, Elekta, won the contract to supply the equipment, which will be installed next year.