Siemens Healthineers has unveiled a new radiotherapy system designed to deliver stereotactic treatments within a single breath-hold, a development that could reshape how quickly and precisely cancer patients receive radiation therapy. The company introduced the Accela platform at the American Society for Radiation Oncology annual meeting in Boston, where clinicians and medical physicists gathered to review the latest technology developments in the field.
At the center of the system is a new delivery technique called NeoArc dynamic modulated arc therapy, or DMAT. Like conventional arc-based approaches such as volumetric-modulated arc therapy, DMAT rotates the treatment beam continuously around the patient while controlling beam shape and intensity to match the prescribed plan. The key difference is that DMAT evaluates dosimetric objectives and delivery efficiency at the same time, rather than primarily optimizing for dose distribution alone. That dual focus allows clinicians to tailor treatments for both speed and precision, balancing the two according to each patient's needs and reducing time spent on the treatment table.
The hardware specifications behind that speed are substantial. Accela integrates a gantry that rotates at up to 2.5 revolutions per minute, dose rates reaching 40 Gy per minute, and a dual-layer multileaf collimator with leaf speeds of up to 6.25 centimeters per second. Together, these capabilities allow the system to deliver multi-site stereotactic body radiotherapy in less than 60 seconds, a window that includes on-couch imaging with a large HyperSight cone-beam CT panel, couch shifts, and the treatment itself.
Beyond workflow efficiency, ultrafast delivery may influence the body's biological response to radiation. Dee Khuntia, chief medical officer at Varian, the Siemens Healthineers cancer-care business, explained that because treatment times can be as short as a single breath-hold, much less blood is irradiated. That matters because it allows for preservation of lymphocytes, the immune cells needed to help the body heal, fight infection, and combat cancer. Khuntia noted that patients undergoing radiation or chemo-radiation who develop lymphopenia, a shortage of lymphocytes in the blood, are known to have lower survival rates.
Sasa Mutic, head of radiation oncology solutions at Siemens Healthineers, described the reception at the conference as overwhelmingly positive. He said the audience immediately grasped the significance of what the company has accomplished and the impact it could have on clinicians and patients.
The first patient treatments with Accela are scheduled for December in Europe, by which time the system is expected to carry the CE mark. FDA clearance is anticipated early next year. One of the first centers to adopt the system will be Maastro in the Netherlands, which plans to initially treat small lung tumors, lung metastases, brain tumors, and metastases in the vertebrae. Those sites require high radiation doses administered with extreme precision while sparing healthy tissue and nearby vulnerable organs, making them a natural starting point for a platform built around speed and accuracy.
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