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The machines that put radiation inside or right next to a tumour: remote afterloaders that send a radioactive seed down a tube, accelerators small enough for an operating theatre, and low-energy X-ray units for skin cancer. Dated from the FDA records.
Remote afterloaders keep the radioactive source in a safe and push it through catheters by computer, so staff are not exposed. Nucletron's Selectron and microSelectron HDR appear in the FDA record from 1986 (K852842, K864210), the GammaMed line from 1989 (K891131), Varian's VariSource from the 1990s and GammaMedplus iX in 2007, Isodose Control's Flexitron in 2007 (K070574, now sold by Elekta), Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG's SagiNova in 2015 (K142986), which offers a cobalt-60 source with a longer half-life, and Varian's BRAVOS in 2018 (K181903). Intraoperative machines run from the Mobetron mobile electron linac (1998) and Zeiss INTRABEAM (2005) to LIAC HWL (2018) and INTRABEAM 700 (2025). Superficial X-ray units for skin cancer date in the FDA record from the Therapax 150 (1978) to Sensus's SRT-100 family and Xstrahl's RADiant (2023), and electronic brachytherapy (Xoft Axxent, 2005; Esteya, 2013) replaced the radioactive source with a switchable X-ray tube.
Nucletron's Selectron HDR (K852842) and microSelectron HDR (K864210) were cleared in 1986, its second version in 1996 and the v3 in 2006; the GammaMed line from Mick Radio-Nuclear in 1989 passed through later owners to Varian, and Varian's VariSource followed. Remote loading removed staff exposure and high-dose-rate sources made treatment outpatient.
GammaMedplus iX (K071381, 2007), Flexitron (K070574, 2007; Elekta claims up to 30 per cent faster treatment from internal data), SagiNova (K142986, 2015), with a miniaturised cobalt-60 source option, and BRAVOS (K181903, 2018), with a pre-treatment checklist and camera-based quality assurance. microSelectron, VariSource iX and MultiSource no longer appear on their makers' current product lists.
Mobetron (K981112, 1998), INTRABEAM (K051055, 2005; 600 in 2016; 700 in 2025), LIAC (2012) and LIAC HWL (2018), and NOVAC 11 (2012). TARGIT-A supported low-energy X-ray IORT for selected women; ELIOT found more in-breast recurrence with electrons.
Superficial and orthovoltage X-ray units, from the Therapax 150A (K781084, 1978) and Gulmay's DARPAC 2000 (1996) to Sensus's SRT-100 (2013), image-guided versions with ultrasound (2013, 2015), SRT-100+ (2018) and Xstrahl's RADiant (2023). Electronic brachytherapy, Xoft Axxent (2005) and Esteya (2013), uses a miniature X-ray tube instead of a radioactive source.
Brachytherapy is a mandatory part of curative cervical cancer treatment and expertise is declining in some regions. Cobalt-60 afterloaders need fewer source changes, which is the basis of OnCo's proposal for low-cost cobalt brachytherapy in every regional centre.
Every era's records, trial outcomes and papers, and every watch item, as JSON.
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Shares Elekta, Varian (Siemens Healthineers), Radiotherapy roadmap: X-rays → shaped beams → fewer fractions, particles and FLASH, Not enough oncologists, nurses, pathologists, physicists and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares IntraOp Medical, Varian (Siemens Healthineers), Radiotherapy roadmap: X-rays → shaped beams → fewer fractions, particles and FLASH, Surgery and radiotherapy cure most, get least and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Elekta, Radiotherapy roadmap: X-rays → shaped beams → fewer fractions, particles and FLASH, Surgery and radiotherapy cure most, get least and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Varian (Siemens Healthineers) and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Varian (Siemens Healthineers) and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Devices and physical therapies roadmap: heat and light → electric fields and focused sound → drug-releasing implants and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Surgery and radiotherapy cure most, get least and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Not enough oncologists, nurses, pathologists, physicists and the tag machines-wave3.
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