Jinshazhou Embarks on a New Journey of Precision Radiotherapy

Recently, Jinshazhou Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine has launched a new chapter in precision radiotherapy. Diacor’s Zephyr® External beam Patient Positioning and Transfer System has officially been put into clinical use, building a critical bridge for the hospital’s fully MR-based (MR-only) online adaptive radiotherapy process.

To achieve higher standards of precision radiotherapy, Jinshazhou Hospital has already deployed cutting-edge equipment and technologies, such as: introducing a linear accelerator that supports AI-driven intelligent treatment, bought in China’s first motion-sensing 4D MR-Sim system specifically for radiotherapy, and focus on the implementation of online adaptive radiotherapy technology.

Patient transfer demonstration

The Zephyr® patient transfer system addresses a core pain point in online adaptive radiotherapy: ensuring highly accurate, consistent, closed-loop alignment of the patient’s position during the transition from MR scanning to linear accelerator treatment. Without the Zephyr® patient transfer system, the integration of MR image guidance and precision treatment would be impossible, and the hospital’s new precision radiotherapy process could not be realized.

Patient positioning and scanning in the MR room
(Note: The “model” in this clinical process is a senior physicist at the hospital to protect patient privacy)

The new precision radiotherapy process achieves “millimeter-level” error control. As President Wensheng Liu of Jinshazhou Hospital once said, “For the brain and spinal cord, especially the brainstem, a 1-millimeter error means accidental damage to normal tissues; improving precision by another millimeter will significantly reduce side effects.”

The online adaptive radiotherapy technology being implemented is designed with “ultimate precision” as its core goal, which imposes strict requirements on the transfer system: it must ensure the accuracy and repeatability of the patient’s position during the entire transfer process (sub-millimeter precision), while also ensuring the smoothness of the transfer process, the ease, stability and safety of operation. It needs to guarantee precision, improve treatment efficiency, and reduce the workload of staff simultaneously.

Patient maintains position during transfer from MRI to the treatment room

The Zephyr Transfer System has passed rigorous testing for its performance, functionality, and user experience. Following installation, multiple clinical tests confirmed that the system fully met the client’s vision for an innovative MR-only online adaptive radiotherapy workflow, enabling seamless implementation of the new precision treatment process.