GE Healthcare and Elekta expand access to precision radiation therapy

GE Healthcare and Elekta aim to meet the major need for radiotherapy solutions

As hospitals increasingly seek flexible and interoperable simulation and guidance technology, GE Healthcare and Elekta aim to meet the major need for radiotherapy solutions across both developed and developing markets.

As many as 50-60 per cent of all cancer patients require radiation therapy with high-quality imaging and sophisticated delivery equipment and software to precisely target tumours while sparing healthy tissue.

Precision imaging is fundamental to determining the size, shape, and characteristics of tumours and differentiating between healthy tissues.

Delivering the most appropriate dose requires advanced patient positioning, motion management technologies, and state-of-the-art techniques such as VMAT or SBRT. Combining GE Healthcare’s imaging solutions with Elekta’s radiation therapy solutions will result in an even more compelling offering for hospitals, and their patients.

“Access to radiation therapy is a significant challenge in several parts of the globe. We are pleased that this collaboration is a step in the right direction to make more comprehensive precision health solutions more readily available,” said Jan Makela, president and CEO of GE Healthcare.

“Cancer care can only be improved if those in the field work together, and this is one of several partnerships that we are pursuing, for the benefit of caregivers and patients, as we build out our oncology offerings to help enable more precise care.”

Elekta CEO, Gustaf Salford, said, “We’re excited about this collaboration with GE Healthcare. This will allow us to promote solutions for each cancer centre. Elekta strives to assure that hospitals and cancer centres can create seamless ecosystems that facilitate efficient cancer care.”

GE Healthcare and Elekta will continue to offer their own solutions using standard interoperability and facilitate interfaces with any vendor’s systems.

The agreement is non-exclusive, meaning each party can continue to cooperate with other partners. Separately, both companies are eager to improve interoperability and streamline workflows in radiation oncology.

GE Healthcare is a $17.7-billion healthcare business. As a global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, the mother company GE operates towards precision health, digitalising healthcare, helping drive productivity, and improving outcomes for patients, providers, health systems, and researchers around the world.

Focusing on precision radiation therapy, Elekta is headquartered in Stockholm, with offices in more than 120 countries.