Elekta Unity with Philips MR technology receives CE mark

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Elekta Unity is the world's first high-field MR-linac

Elekta yesterday announced that its Unity magnetic resonance (MR) radiation therapy system has received CE mark, clearing the technology for commercial sales and clinical use in Europe [1]. The new radiation therapy system, which incorporates Philips’ 1.5T digital MR imaging technology will now be implemented clinically in Europe. It is the only system, which integrates an advanced linear accelerator (linac) with high-field MR imaging without compromising either technology.

Unity has the potential to transform how clinicians treat cancer by enabling the delivery of the radiation dose while simultaneously visualizing the tumor and surrounding healthy tissue with high-quality MR images. Unity also integrates advanced tools that allow clinicians to adapt the patient’s treatment to this current anatomical information

“Receiving CE mark for Unity is a big achievement in revolutionizing the field of radiation therapy and a real watershed moment for treating cancer,” said Richard Hausmann, President and CEO, Elekta. “The change that MR/RT will bring in cancer therapy is paramount in advancing patient treatment. I’m thankful to the MR-linac Consortium members, our MR technology partner Philips and our dedicated employees for helping us reach this important day.”

We are very proud of the extraordinary team effort by Elekta, Philips and the MR-linac Consortium members that was necessary to obtain the CE mark for Unity.

Rob Castella

Chief Business Leader Diagnosis and Treatment at Royal Philips

elekta unity mt linac with philips mr technology

“We are very proud of the extraordinary team effort by Elekta, Philips and the MR-linac Consortium members that was necessary to obtain the CE mark for Unity,” said Rob Cascella, Chief Business Leader of the Diagnosis and Treatment businesses at Royal Philips. “With this significant milestone, we believe the expanded use of MR imaging in oncology, from diagnosis and therapy planning to image-guided treatment, will improve outcomes and enhance overall patient care.”

Philips’ Ingenia MR-RT simulation platform with MR linac simulation package [2] will be an ideal complement to Elekta Unity. With consistent workflow and image quality from MR simulation through to online MR guidance during radiation treatment, it is designed to exploit the many similarities and synergies between Philips Ingenia MR-RT and Elekta Unity. A common high-field image generation technology enables similar image quality, similar MR console user interfaces, as well as similar coil setup and patient positioning workflows. This helps to enhance reproducibility, accelerate learning curves and drive continuity across the care path.

[1] Elekta Unity has CE mark but is not available for commercial distribution or sale in the U.S or Canada

[2] The MR simulation package for Elekta Unity is work in progress and not available for sale or distribution.