Medical technology tests get lab boost
THE Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Daresbury Laboratory is strengthening its support for the medical device industry with a new facility.
The testing facility will enable Varian Medical Systems to increase its capacity for testing new radiotherapy technologies.
Varian Medical Systems will use the facility to scale up the testing of its advanced linear accelerator technology, which allows clinicians to deliver targeted doses of radiation to treat cancers of the lung, prostate, breast, brain, spine, liver, pancreas, bone, among many others.
These radiotherapy machines require specialist testing carried out by highly skilled technicians. Importantly, this testing must be performed in a radiation-protected environment due to the amount of radiation generated.
For the last two years, Varian has conducted this testing at Daresbury Laboratory, located at Sci-Tech Daresbury. Here it has been using the existing radiation-protective infrastructure and the technical expertise available on site to carry out this essential work.
However, the increased requirement to manufacture more of these radiotherapy machines has required Varian to upscale its testing capacity.
Designed and built in collaboration with a team of experts at Daresbury Laboratory, the testing facility enables Varian to more than triple its testing and manufacturing capacity.
This has led to the creation of five new jobs at Daresbury Laboratory as well as new jobs at the Varian site in Crawley, Sussex.
Paul Vernon, head of STFC’s
Daresbury Laboratory, said: “Daresbury Laboratory has pioneered particle accelerators throughout its 60-year history.
“These systems are highly complex but are proving to be an essential technology for the development of new generation radiotherapy systems for treating cancer.”
Andy Partridge, vice president
APAC EMEA Manufacturing at Varian, said: “By working with STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, Varian will now produce and test many more Halcyon radiotherapy systems within the UK.
“This work leads to increased productivity, the creation of new jobs, and supporting the development of cancer treatment.”