An alliance between Elekta Inc. and North American Scientific Inc. (NASI) positions Elekta to begin including ultrasound targeting technology with its linear accelerator platforms.

Concurrent with the agreement, Elekta will include NASI's BAT SXi image-guided ultrasound technology with its digital linear accelerators. Elekta said the systems will provide clinicians with the ability to more aggressively treat cancer while avoiding damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

NASI's image-guided targeting system provides fast ultrasound localization of a treatment target on a daily basis. Currently, it is most commonly used for treating prostate cancer. Elekta's radiation oncology product line includes its flagship IGRT (imageguided radiation therapy) platform, Elekta Synergy, which is integrated with an advanced x-ray volume imaging system.