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A miniature X-ray tube, switched on and off electrically, that does the job of a radioactive seed: it is placed in or on the tumour and gives a short-range dose, with no radioactive source to store or replace.
Electronic brachytherapy replaces the iridium-192 source of an afterloader with a 50 kV miniature X-ray tube. Xoft's Axxent system was cleared on 22 December 2005 (K050843), followed by applicators for the vagina, skin surface, breast balloon and cervix, and later models under iCAD (K122951, 2013; K153570, 2016); Elekta now markets it as the Xoft Axxent eBx System with a "50 kV miniaturized X-ray source". Elekta's Esteya, a dedicated skin unit, was cleared in 2013 (K132092) and again in 2022 (K213942); it does not appear on Elekta's current skin page, so whether it is still sold is not confirmed. Sensus Healthcare's IORT system (K182641, 2019) uses the same principle in the operating theatre.
The advantages are practical: no radioactive source, less shielding, and a unit that can move between rooms. Against iridium the dose falls off faster with depth, which suits skin and cavity surfaces and limits deeper targets, and the published evidence is mostly single-centre series rather than randomised comparison.
A miniature X-ray tube at about 50 kV, placed in an applicator inside a cavity or on the skin, delivers a brachytherapy-like dose that falls off steeply with distance and stops when the tube is switched off.
Query for this technology: (TITLE:"Electronic brachytherapy" OR ABSTRACT:"Electronic brachytherapy" OR TITLE:"Xoft Axxent, Esteya" OR ABSTRACT:"Xoft Axxent, Esteya" OR TITLE:"Xoft" OR ABSTRACT:"Xoft" OR TITLE:"Axxent" OR ABSTRACT:"Axxent") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Electronic brachytherapy (Xoft Axxent, Esteya), not a curated reading list.
Shares Intraoperative radiotherapy machines (INTRABEAM, Mobetron, LIAC, NOVAC), Brachytherapy, intraoperative and skin radiotherapy machines: afterloaders, theatre linacs and office X-ray units, Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Superficial and orthovoltage radiotherapy for skin cancer, Brachytherapy, intraoperative and skin radiotherapy machines: afterloaders, theatre linacs and office X-ray units and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Elekta and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Breast cancer (all types) and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Endometrial cancer, Breast cancer (all types) and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Breast cancer (all types) and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Breast cancer (all types) and the tag machines-wave3.
Shares Breast cancer (all types) and the tag machines-wave3.
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