The Life Healthcare group on Tuesday officially inaugurated the first artificial intelligence (AI) and adaptive radiotherapy system in sub-Saharan Africa. Manufactured by US company Varian Medical Systems, now part of German company Siemens Healthineers (itself part of the Siemens group), the system is branded as ‘Ethos’. It has been installed in the oncology unit of the Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital, in Pinelands, Cape Town.

Addressing the assembled guests at the launch function, hospital manager Gavin Pike noted that the installation of the system had required “substantial investments”, without revealing the actual amount. He further noted that installing it had involved certain structural and logistical challenges, which had been successfully met. These included the installation of steel structures in the oncology unit, while the unit continued to operate as normal (as far as the patients were concerned). The investment meant that the hospital’s oncology centre remained at the forefront of oncology treatment.

“This is a very proud moment in Life Healthcare,” affirmed group CEO Peter Wharton-Hood in his address. “Technology is obviously one of the keystones in our global strategy. However, we know that technology alone doesn’t deliver care. It’s the people.”

The new system allows the hospital’s oncology clinicians to provide ‘adaptive therapy’ to their patients, which allows the treatment to be optimised for the unique needs of each patient. (The anatomy of each patient changes during a radiotherapy treatment course; for example, as a result of weight loss.). The precision of the treatment is increased and the time required is reduced. Tumours are more accurately targeted and healthy tissues are subjected to less radiation.

“The system allows us to use AI to adapt to a patient’s anatomy,” explained Life Healthcare South Africa chief medical officer Dr Louis Kathan. “This allows us to make decisions more efficiently on a daily basis based on each patient’s individual needs. The ability of the machine to deliver on-couch adaptive treatment puts the patient at the centre of care.”

“Clinicians globally have waited for the day when they have the ability to adapt radiotherapy treatments to changes in patient anatomy,” pointed out Life Vincent Pallotti Oncology Unit radiation therapy manager Kulthum Ismail. “Typically changes to a patient’s treatment plan due to changes in anatomy require time-consuming re-scanning and re-planning between treatment sessions, which could take up to two days. The Ethos radiotherapy adaptive technology allows the treatment plan to be adjusted daily, in real-time and the treatment to be planned and administered, all within 20 to 30 minutes.”