Radiation oncology vendor Elekta has received FDA clearance for its Elekta Beam Modulator, a multi-leaf collimator designed for use with the company's medical linear accelerators.
   
The device shapes the radiation beam to more closely conform to the exact shape of the tumor, thereby allowing greater accuracy and smaller treatment fields, Elekta said. Clinicians can obtain fine resolution beam shaping for challenging indications throughout the body, where treatment objectives typically include decreasing the number of treatment sessions, limiting the volume of normal tissue exposed to radiation, and increasing dose.
   
The technology is ideal for targeting difficult-to-treat cancers of the lung and spine, as well as other sites in the body, Elekta said. Lung cancer, as well as cancers along the spine, is some of the most difficult sites to treat due to respiratory motion and the proximity of critical organs
   
According to Elekta, Temple University Health System in Philadelphia, Penn., is building a radiation oncology department from the ground up in its $77 million Ambulatory Care Center currently under construction. The facility will be equipped with an Elekta Beam Modulator.