UK-first for patients with brain tumours will bring 'pinpoint' accuracy

Brain tumour patients being treated at the Churchill Hospital, part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), are the first in the UK to benefit from a new way of carrying out MRI scans to plan specialist radiotherapy treatment.

£115,000 of new equipment funded by Oxford Hospitals Charity will lead to quicker MRI scans and more precise and targeted radiotherapy, highlighting even the tiniest of tumours and reducing adverse effects on healthy brain tissue.

The new equipment, called an AIR™ Open Coil Suite for Radiation Oncology and developed by GE HealthCare, is a flexible electromagnetic coil, and the innovation will initially benefit around 250 patients a year.

Patients receiving radiotherapy for brain tumours wear a mask to hold them completely still, allowing tumours to be targeted very accurately – to a precision of less than one millimetre.

To plan the treatment, patients need to have CT scans and MRI scans that allow the team of doctors, therapeutic radiographers, and physicists to accurately identify the target for treatment.

While the CT scan can be carried out with the patients held steady in the mask, previously, the MRI scans had to be done without a mask, meaning the two images (CT and MRI) were different and had to be manually overlayed by staff in order to provide a single image to plan treatment from.

Now, the new coil can fit around the mask, ensuring identical positioning of the head in the MRI scanner, so images can be lined up without the need to manually adjust. This also means the head can be held in the exact same position for treatment.

This approach leads to more precise treatment and saves valuable time for staff.

Rhona Watson, a Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer at OUH, said: "Thanks to funding from Oxford Hospitals Charity, this new piece of equipment will dramatically change how we plan radiotherapy for some of our patients.

"The benefits are multiple - most significantly, the quality and precision of the images is greater, because they align better and the new coil fits more snugly to the face.

"Even the tiniest of tumours can be seen and radiotherapy can be targeted with pinpoint accuracy, reducing side effects such as inflammation of surrounding brain tissue."

While this new approach has been used in the US and Europe, this is the first time it has benefited UK patients.

Rhona added: "We are excited about being the first team in the UK to bring this big step forward to our patients. We are incredibly grateful for the support from Oxford Hospitals Charity and their very kind donor for making this possible."

Tamsin Rawlings, Head of Major Gifts at Oxford Hospitals Charity, said: "Our charity is very proud to have funded this new equipment. It's always exciting to work with staff in our hospitals and our special donors to do something truly innovative - that moves things forward for our patients."

Andy Laycock, MR Product Specialist at GE HealthCare, said: "We are very excited to see the impact this latest iteration of the AIR™ Coil Technology portfolio will have. Oxford University Hospitals is a Trust with whom we have a long standing and valued relationship, and it’s a great pleasure that they are the first in the UK to implement this cutting-edge piece of technology."

'I feel very honoured'

67-year-old Graham Best, from Aylesbury and a grandfather of five, was the first patient to have his scans done with the new coil ahead of his radiotherapy treatment for a non-cancerous tumour in April 2025.

The former support worker said: "I was initially very nervous when I learned I needed radiotherapy, it’s a big scary word, but the team at the Churchill have been great.I also feel very honoured and excited to the first patient in the UK to benefit from this new equipment – from everything I’ve heard it’s a real step forward, so it’s absolutely marvellous. And I want to say a big, big thank you.”

Jill Smith, from Swindon, was the first patient with cancer to have scans using the new equipment. The retired medical secretary received radiotherapy for a small brain tumour – following earlier treatment for breast cancer.

She said: “It’s reassuring and comforting to know that using this method they can be more certain of what’s going on in my brain. I feel very privileged really, and I’d like to thank the charity’s donor – what a generous thing to do.”

Felicity Taylor-Drewe, Chief Operating Officer at OUH, said: “We are proud to be the first in the UK to offer this equipment and are excited about the positive impact it will have for our patients and staff. Thank you to Oxford Hospitals Charity and to the clinical team for making this possible.”

Pictured from left: Anthony McIntyre (Diagnostic Radiographer), Rhona Watson (Therapeutic Radiographer), Samuel Allison (Diagnostic Radiographer). Copyright: JMB Photography and Oxford Hospitals Charity.