Who Says Radiotherapy Equipment Can’t Last Forever?

One common debate among medical equipment professionals is the useful life of a machine. Nowadays, manufacturers of radiation therapy equipment like to claim that the useful life of equipment is only 7-8 years.  They argue that a 7-year-old device was actually designed and developed 7 years prior to its release, and that the technology, software, and know-how of 14 years ago is now outdated. We don’t necessarily agree with that statement. There are machines 20+ years old operating safely and reliably throughout the world.

For example, a Varian 6X linear accelerator (pictured above) treated patients for over 40 years safely and effectively in Latin America.

But every so often, we are surprised by the durability of some of the earlier radiotherapy devices we come across.

An Ageless Superficial Unit

This GE MaximaR 100 X-Ray Device, also knows as a Superficial Unit, has been operating since 1953 at a hospital in the U.S.  That’s a whopping 69 years. A superficial unit is used to treat patients with skin cancer. It produces mild doses of radiation that destroy the cancerous cells while preserving the surrounding healthy tissues.  The simplicity of the device, the quality of its construction, and the relatively mild wear and tear have given this particular machine a stellar track record.

Superficial radiotherapy units are still being manufactured and used today, particularly in dermatology and radiation oncology clinics.  Today’s superficial radiotherapy models include the Sensus SRT-100, the Elekta Esteya system, as well as systems manufactured by Eckert & Ziegler in Germany and XStrahl in the UK.

Linear Accelerators in the Market

Our team examined the average life of linear accelerators in the market. We looked at our proprietary databases of hundreds of systems for sale at any given time over the last four years. We found that the average age of a linear accelerator in the used equipment market in 2022 is 14 years old. Of course, not all of these machines will be resold or refurbished.

One physician at a radiation oncology center in the Caribbean spoke on the reliability of older linacs, “Our 2003 Varian 21EX linear accelerator treats over 50 patients per day. It has all the features we want including RapidArc. The 21EX has successfully treated thousands of patients.” At ROS,  we have helped install linacs in over 25 countries that are now, on average, over 14 years old and still treating cancer.

The simple fact is that these well built machines can last much longer than 7-8 years. Some companies underestimate the useful life of their linacs because they want customers to purchase their newest model to drive annual sales. Moreover, many refurbished linacs use the same advanced technology as the current models on the market.

What is the oldest system you have come across that is still in use?  We’d love to hear from you.