Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
Imaging equipment for better cancer surgery
One in two people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime. As the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe, the Royal Marsden relies on cutting edge equipment to treat the 60,000 patients they see every year.
We are pleased to support the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity with a grant of £96,000 towards two new pieces of equipment: an intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) machine and a mobile image intensifier (MII). These machines give surgeons real time, high-resolution images during surgery, allowing them to perform precise surgery with smaller incisions and less disruption to other organs which is better for patients.
- The Royal Marsden and its partner the Institute for Cancer Research are consistently ranked in the top five cancer research institutions worldwide.
- Around 375,000 new cases of cancer are detected every year in the UK.
- Approximately half of people diagnosed with cancer in the UK now survive their disease for ten years or more.
Amanda Slater – This file is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Seeing clearly during surgery
Using the IOUS, a surgeon can clearly see the position of blood vessels and other vital structures in relation to a tumor. Surgeons are able to locate even the smallest tumors and lesions with incredible accuracy. The IOUS is particularly useful for patients with liver cancer where 20% of patients need surgery as part of their primary treatment. This includes operations to remove part of the liver so that the healthy liver can regrow. The IOUS can also be used for Whipple procedures, complex but potentially lifesaving surgery used to treat pancreatic cancer.
The MII uses several pulses of an x-ray beam to take footage of tissues in real time and reduces the amount of radiation a patient is exposed to. Because it is mobile, it can be used wherever needed in the hospital, for example in theatres during surgery and in other departments as well as radiology.
“Surgical techniques and imaging technology have advanced at an incredible pace over the last decade, and are continually evolving. Surgeons can now use imaging to see the precise size and locations of tumours during procedures. The new interoperative ultrasound machine will mean that we can offer minimal access surgery to more patients, helping them to recover more quickly and reducing the length of their hospital stay.”
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