User:CuriosityScribe/sandbox

Introduction

Example of a medical Linear Accelerator

The Little Linac project was started by Professor David Brettle

Professor David Brettle
Occupation	Medical Physicist
Organization	Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Title	Chief Scientific Officer

when he was President of Institute of Physics in Medicine (IPEM) Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. His vision was for IPEM to provide every child in the UK undergoing radiotherapy treatment for cancer with a free kit of play bricks to make a model Linear Accelerator (LINAC) and in doing so to help reduce the child’s anxiety, through play, by allowing them to see and understand what the machine looks like and how it moves around them during their treatment. The kits underwent an evaluation day at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where David is Head of Medical Physics and Engineering, with play therapists, healthcare staff, the patients’ families and most importantly, the children themselves. . IPEM brought three partners on board – the British Institute of Radiology, the Royal College of Radiologists, and the Society and College of Radiographers - to ensure that all the professionals involved in children’s cancer treatment know about the Little Linac. An initial order for 3,000 Little Linac kits was placed with Best-Lock and IPEM is giving 100 kits to each of the 16 paediatric radiotherapy centres across the UK to give to children undergoing radiotherapy treatment. The remainder will be sold to generate funds to purchase the next 3,000 kits, so that the project will become self-sustaining.