HCA Healthcare UK, which operates private hospitals and outpatient centres, has installed an Elekta Unity MR-Linac at The Harley Street Clinic.
The system combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a linear accelerator, allowing clinicians to image tumours during radiotherapy treatment and adapt the treatment plan as required.
The technology is designed to support more precise radiotherapy for tumours that can move or change position during treatment, including prostate and central lung tumours.
HCA UK said the system will allow its clinical teams to track tumour movement during treatment and adjust radiation delivery to target the tumour while limiting exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.
The system is particularly suited to tumours affected by movement, including prostate and central lung tumours, allowing treatment to be adapted in real time and potentially reducing treatment sessions while limiting radiation exposure to healthy tissue.
The £15m investment is HCA UK’s first MR-Linac installation globally.
The Harley Street Clinic is among a small number of providers in London to offer MR-guided adaptive radiotherapy.
Treatment will be delivered by a multidisciplinary team including clinical oncologists, physicists, dosimetrists and radiographers.
The service will be led by Dr Elena Moreno Olmedo, a consultant specialising in MR-guided radiotherapy, who will oversee treatment sessions and work with the wider clinical team on treatment planning and delivery.
HCA UK has also joined the international Elekta MR-Linac Consortium, a collaboration between centres using the technology to develop evidence-based approaches to MR-guided radiotherapy.
“We’re proud to be one of the first independent hospitals in London to offer advanced radiotherapy with the use of the MR‑Linac at The Harley Street Clinic,” said William Pressley, CEO at The Harley Street Clinic.
