![[From left to right] Luke Speakman – Production Team Leader, Mike Jones – Senior Hardware Installation Engineer, Ian Harland and Max Coleman – Electronic Test Technicians at Varian, a Siemens Healthineers Company, with the Halcyon radiotherapy system at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.](https://marketing.webassets.siemens-healthineers.com/60b35f686f4d05b9/6deff41b8185/v/da1572241850/Varian-Hull.jpg)
[From left to right] Luke Speakman – Production Team Leader, Mike Jones – Senior Hardware Installation Engineer, Ian Harland and Max Coleman – Electronic Test Technicians at Varian, a Siemens Healthineers Company, with the Halcyon radiotherapy system at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Radiotherapy treatment and planning scan facilities have been upgraded at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust with HalcyonTM radiotherapy systems from Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, and SOMATOM go.Open Pro CT systems from Siemens Healthineers. The introduction of the new equipment at Castle Hill Hospital marks the launch of an integrated approach to cancer care in Hull, with patients set to benefit from optimised pathways.
Castle Hill Hospital is home to the Queen’s Centre, clinically treating a broad range of cancer patients. Following the initial installation of a single Halcyon radiotherapy system, a second was implemented to facilitate streamlined radiotherapy delivery - achieving results quickly and quietly, whilst improving workflow and the patient experience. The addition of the SOMATOM go.Open Pro CT systems from Siemens Healthineers bolsters radiotherapy CT simulation planning provision while at the same time, facilitating diagnostic scanning for years to come.
Engineered to simplify and enhance image-guided volumetric intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), the Halcyon radiotherapy system enables rapid treatment delivery at the Trust. Workflow efficiency is optimised to allow radiographers more time at the patient’s side, whilst the quiet, smooth motion of the Halcyon is designed to improve the patient experience. Castle Hill Hospital is able to streamline treatment for less complex cases, helping to support shorter treatment times and increased patient throughput. Furthermore, using Halcyon clinically has dramatically reduced energy consumption at the hospital from 4,500 kWh to 1,200 kWh per month supporting the Trust as they strive towards becoming carbon neutral.
Selected to help facilitate both diagnostics and radiotherapy planning, two SOMATOM go.Open Pro CT systems were implemented to boost capacity at Castle Hill Hospital. The 128-slice CT scanners are equipped with Direct i4D and DirectORGANS technology from Siemens Healthineers – facilitating real-time, intelligent adaptation to patient breathing, and OAR contouring. These features will help to expand capabilities at Castle Hill Hospital, allowing accurate imaging of moving targets for improved planning, whilst speeding up time-consuming contouring processes and reducing demand on clinicians.
The integration of Varian radiotherapy and CT systems from Siemens Healthineers with the ARIA Oncology Information System in place at Castle Hill Hospital allows comprehensive patient information management, optimised connectivity and integrated imaging at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
“Our experience with the new equipment from Varian and Siemens Healthineers has been positive so far,” states Carl Horsfield, Principal Physicist at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. “The SOMATOM go.Open Pro CT systems have some significant technological improvements on our previous scanners and the ability to automatically tailor exposures for individual patients (e.g. for changes in breathing rate) should improve both accuracy and efficiency. The Halcyon radiotherapy systems should also offer efficiency benefits – contributing to more streamlined treatment delivery. They are less imposing than a conventional C-arm Linac as the moving parts are enclosed within the gantry, helping to improve the patient experience.”
“The implementation of the Halycon radiotherapy systems from Varian, and the SOMATOM go.Open Pro CT systems from Siemens Healthineers allows Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to provide an end-to-end solution for their patients,” states Adele Lyons, Regional Lead UK and Ireland at Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company . “The high quality CT radiotherapy planning scans with contours, are fed into the Eclipse Oncology Planning System ahead of treatment on the Halcyon, optimising treatment planning and patient pathways.”
For further information on the Halcyon radiotherapy system, visit https://bit.ly/3nttuc8, or find out more about the SOMATOM go.Open Pro CT https://bit.ly/3lgBpGZ.