During Monday’s Board of Governors meeting, the Board approved the
installation and construction costs of a new linear accelerator in the
Cancer Pavilion for $383,526. The Oncology Department will receive the
machine this spring, two years after it was purchased by the hospital
in December 2018.
The 2018 approval did not include the installation cost which was budgeted
for 2020 by Radiation Oncology. The installation project involves updates
inside the vault, as well as the control room areas as machine technology
and characteristics have changed since the installation of the hospital’s
last linear accelerator in 2006.
“The addition of the Varian Edge Radiosurgery System is an exciting
opportunity for Good Samaritan to provide the most state of the art radiation
treatments for our patients,” said Dr. Brian Gebhardt, Radiation
Oncologist. “This system is designed to deliver highly conformal
and accurate radiation doses to tumors in the brain with a technique called
stereotactic radiosurgery as well as increase the speed and precision
of treatments for other tumors throughout the body. We are excited to
install the machine and treat our patients.” Oncology patients will
also be able to make only one to three visits for radiation treatment
opposed to the two-week course of whole brain irradiation.
“With the edition of the Varian Edge™, we will be able to offer
our patients the most accurate linear accelerator on the market with sub-millimeter
accuracy and less imaging exposure,” said Jane Russell, Director
of Oncology. “I am excited for this new addition to our Oncology
Department.”
The new linear accelerator is expected to arrive this year in May or June
and be fully operational in July. No interruptions are expected to affect
patient care.