Aberdeen’s radiotherapy department has become the first in Scotland to install a new system that better targets treatment.
Friends of Anchor, which supports cancer patients across the north-east and the islands, teamed up with NHS Grampian Endowment Fund to buy four Omniboards for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
The equipment allows radiographers to quickly and accurately position patients to deliver more targeted radiotherapy.
Radiotherapy manager Nicola Redgwell said the system would be a huge benefit to patients – allowing 115 to be seen each day.
She said: “The introduction of the OmniBoards will bring significant gains to the department, by greatly improving patient comfort and the efficiency with which treatment sessions can be carried out.
“The system looks a bit like a high-tech stretcher with different modular attachments, which can be manipulated to position patients in highly specific ways.
“Acquisition of the OmniBoard system is an important step in achieving the most precise radiotherapy treatments possible for the benefit of our patients.”
The charities clubbed together to cover the £112,000 cost of the system.
Sarah-Jane Hogg, director of Friends of Anchor, said: “We have long been committed to equipping the radiotherapy department with the means to deliver more targeted therapies.
“One of the most notable investments has been our funding of over £13,000 for a film dosimetry system in 2017, to further advance the use of a relatively new radiotherapy technique called SABR.
“Thanks to this joint investment with NHS Grampian Endowment Fund, the department is now the first in Scotland to be the proud home of this new equipment which will bring a significant boost to patients and clinical teams in the north-east.”
The system is now installed and training is under way.
Sheena Lonchay, operational Manager for NHS Grampian Endowment Fund, said: “We are proud to be working in partnership with Friends of Anchor to fund four OmniBoards which are specifically for patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment.
“As a charity we help to fund specialist pieces of equipment that enhance the services that NHS Grampian provides as everything the endowment fund supports must be for the benefit of patients as they’re at the heart of everything we do.”
