Our MR Linac Unit

The MR Linac machine combines two technologies – an MRI scanner and a linear accelerator – to precisely locate tumours, tailor the shape of X-ray beams in real time, and accurately deliver doses of radiation even to moving tumours.

Located at the Sutton site of the ICR and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the MR Linac Unit is the first of its kind in the UK and only the fourth in the world. This page collects together recent news regarding this groundbreaking technology which will be used to precisely locate tumours and accurately deliver doses of radiation.

An Elekta Versa HD radiotherapy machine.

New scan measures tumour oxygen levels in real-time to help guide treatment

16/03/23

Imaging researchers have taken a major step towards their ultimate goal of identifying cancers that are starved of oxygen so that altered treatment can be used to target them more effectively.

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New head and neck cancer radiotherapy technique could deliver more robust treatment plan in shorter time on MR Linac

23/05/22

New adaptive radiotherapy technique for head and neck cancer can deliver a more robust treatment plan in a shorter timeframe on MR Linac, compared with the current method used by most radiotherapy centres.

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MRI images reconstructed by artificial intelligence could accelerate and better guide radiotherapy

25/06/21

An artificial intelligence (AI) that reconstructs MRI images of moving tumours can do so in seconds, offering a significant improvement on current methods to optimise radiotherapy treatment in the clinic.

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MR Linac scanner with Ross Lydall inside

First patient in the UK receives pioneering new form of radiotherapy

24/09/18

The ICR and the Royal Marsden have delivered the first ever treatment in the UK using a Magnetic Resonance Linear Accelerator (MR Linac) machine.

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New ‘super-resolution’ MRI could help plan radiotherapy treatment for lung cancer

01/08/18

Researchers have developed a new technique to create high-quality 3D movies of tissues in the body as they move, which could help doctors plan radiotherapy treatment for cancers including lung tumours.

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Important step towards MR Linac radiotherapy for lung cancer

18/12/17

Researchers working with the MR Linac – a pioneering radiotherapy machine – have successfully developed treatment plans for patients with an advanced form of lung cancer.

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MR Linac: first healthy volunteer scanned in pioneering new radiotherapy machine

09/11/17

The first healthy volunteer has been scanned using a revolutionary new type of radiotherapy machine, which is set to transform cancer treatment by allowing radiation to be aimed at tumours with extreme precision.

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Drone footage of the MR-Linac magnet being lowered into the ground

Progress with MR Linac radiotherapy machine promises a new era of personalised therapy

09/06/16

Following the delivery of a giant magnet for the groundbreaking MR Linac machine, Dr Claire Bithell considers what its completion will mean for personalised cancer therapy.

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If you’re a journalist and want to find out more, you can contact our media relations team.

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Our research centres & divisions

Through our close partnerships with The Royal Marsden and other key UK institutions, we're leading a wide breadth of cancer research across eight divisions and more than 25 research centres and strategic initiatives.

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