Inauguration of the Radiotherapy Department
Thursday 10 November, almost a year since it moved to the Anderlecht campus, the Jules Bordet Institute – part of the Brussels University Hospital together with the Erasmus Hospital and the Queen Fabiola Children's University Hospital – will be officially inaugurating its Radiology Department. A department equipped with brand new innovative infrastructure including Belgium's first 1.5T MRI-Linac and the first MRI simulator acquired thanks to financing of 6.5 million euros from the Jules Bordet Association.
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More precise and effective treatment thanks to MRI.
MRI is a non-radiating imaging method that permits improved quality images and more precise tumour targeting that spares healthy organs and tissue. The 1.5 Tesla MRI-Linac combines an MRI scanner and a linear accelerator. This makes it possible to capture images before, during and after each radiotherapy session so that the treatment can be adapted to the situation on the day. With a 1.5 T MRI we can not only acquire anatomical images and adapt the treatment to the morphology of the day but also obtain functional images that inform us of the tumour's biology. The next stage will be to adapt the treatment to the tumour biology in real time and to each patient in keeping with the philosophy of a personalised medicine.
The Radiology Department has also acquired an MRI simulator, dedicated uniquely to treatment preparation. The patient can now effect all the imaging necessary for the effective planning and carrying out of treatment on an MRI scanner. This is the concept known as "Total MRI Workflow".
A revolution to come: Flash Therapy
Flash Therapy involves delivering the radiotherapy doses in just a few milliseconds rather than over several minutes as is the case with traditional treatment. The impact on the tumour remains the same but healthy cells are spared. This makes it possible to improve treatment effectiveness while reducing toxicity. The radiotherapy community has high hopes for this approach as, on the basis of the first clinical results, it is a technique that would make it possible to treat patients with zero or near zero toxicity. An update of the Mobetron (machine used for intraoperative radiotherapy in breast cancers) will enable the radiotherapy team at the Jules Bordet Institute to be a part of the Flash Therapy revolution. Initially, Flash Therapy will lie in the field of fundamental and translational research, but the aim is to develop and carry out clinical trials in cooperation with other international centres, for the patient's benefit. The reference centre in the fight against cancer is pursuing its desire to offer patients equipment at the leading edge of technology and increasingly precise and effective cancer treatment.
