What is MR-Linac technology?
MR-Linac (Magnetic Resonance Image-Guided Radiotherapy) technology combines high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques with targeted radiation therapy.1 The benefits of this technology can include improved soft-tissue visualisation, daily real-time imaging and the opportunity for adaptive radiation therapy to adjust to any anatomical changes that take place during treatment, precise targeting to the tumour, reduced side effects, and fewer treatment sessions.1,2
Benefits of MR-Linac technology
Real-time images for accurate targeting
The MR-Linac shows the exact position and shape of the tumour during treatment, so the radiation therapy beam can target your tumour with high precision. The MR-Linac also has automated beam control, so if your tumour temporarily moves slightly out of position, such as when you breathe, your treatment will automatically pause. This ensures that the radiation therapy is precisely focused on the treatment area and helps to protect your healthy tissues from damage.1,2
Fewer treatment sessions
As the MR-Linac offers treatment that is very precise with real-time imaging and targeted, some patients (depending on factors such as tumour type, grade, and age) may only need 5 treatment sessions.3
Reduced side effects and improved quality of life
As the MR-Linac offers the ability to precisely target a tumour, this means that the technology can help minimise damage to surrounding healthy tissue, potentially leading to fewer side effects.2
Common tumour types treated with MR-Linac technology
The MR-Linac is a promising treatment option for tumours that are located near other major organs where limiting damage to healthy tissue is paramount, or in organs that tend to move a lot – for example in the upper abdomen due to breathing.2
This technology may be a potential treatment option for a range of cancer types including prostate, liver, pancreatic, rectal, bladder, and kidney cancer.4 It is also beneficial in the treatment of metastases, where cancer has spread to other parts of the body.2
It’s important to speak with your treating specialist clinician to understand whether the MR-Linac may be an option for you.
What does MR-Linac treatment involve?
Below is an outline of what to expect after your initial consultation and before, during and after your treatment. There are four stages to the process: your planning appointment, planning, treatment and follow-up. Before your first appointment, your care team will call you to explain any preparation instructions in advance of your appointments and to answer any questions.
The appointment will last for 2-3 hours and will involve a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on the MR-Linac and a computed tomography (CT) scan. It will involve the following steps:
- Your dedicated team will explain the process to you and will ask you to fill in a safety questionnaire. You may be asked to have a full bladder or fast for your appointment.
The treatment team will contact you before your appointment, to go through what you will need to do on the day of your treatment, so you are well prepared. - The nurses will see you before your appointment to review and assess you and to go through possible side effects you may experience and how you can best manage them.
- You will be asked to change into a gown and remove any metal objects such as jewellery, hearing aids, glasses or dentures.
- You will be directed to the MR-Linac room for your MRI scan. This appointment will be around 45 minutes. Here you will be positioned in the same way as you would during treatment.
- You will then be directed to the simulation room where the team will make some markings on your skin to position you for your treatment. This appointment will take around 30 minutes.
In some instances, patients may not need an MRI planning appointment, depending upon tumour type, grade, age, and general health. This is referred to as a simless approach to treatment. Please speak with your treating doctor to understand more about whether it is applicable for you.
During the following week, your specialist team will work together to create a personalised treatment plan that is specific to you. We use advanced computer technology to determine the treatment dose, total sessions, and to contour the tumour and surrounding tissue and organs.
We will carry out many of the same steps at treatment as we did at planning, such as removing accessories and changing clothes. Your treatment will take around 45-60 minutes and you may be asked to have a full bladder or fast for your appointment.
The treatment team will contact you before your appointment, to go through what you will need to do on the day of your treatment, so you are well prepared. We will talk to you throughout your treatment, and you can talk to us through a two-way intercom.
Before each treatment session, you will have a new MRI scan which will be compared with your planning scans. Any movements of your tumour and internal organs will be taken into account and your treatment plan will be carefully adjusted and adapted to account for these changes. During treatment you will hear a ‘whirring’ sound when the radiation beam is turned on.
After each treatment session, your radiation oncologist and nurse will be available should you have any concerns or questions you’d like to discuss. You will also be provided with contact details for the team, so you can call them at a later stage.
After your treatment sessions have completed you will be referred back to your specialist, together with all the information they need to plan any further treatment you may require.
Seven to ten days later: a member of the MR-Linac team will call to see how you are feeling and answer any questions you may have. You will be asked to attend a follow up appointment, 4-6 weeks after your treatment where the radiation oncologist will review the outcomes with you.
In the longer term, we will continue to follow up on your recovery and wellbeing through appointments, phone calls and emails.
Contact the team for more information
GenesisCare, Darlinghurst
(St Vincent’s Clinic)
Level A, 438 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
GenesisCare, Murdoch
(St John of God Hospital)
100 Murdoch Drive,
Murdoch WA 6150
Meet our team
A/Prof. Dion Forstner
MBBS (Hons), FRANZCR, GAICD
Radiation Oncologist
Macquarie University Hospital (Oncology) +1
Dr Monique Heinke
BSc (Hons Class 1), PhD, MBBS, FRANZCR
Radiation Oncologist
Macquarie University Hospital (Oncology) +1
Dr Jeremy de Leon
BSc (Bioinformatics), M.B.B.S (Honours), FRANZCR
Radiation Oncologist
Darlinghurst (Oncology)
Find a centre near you
Read next
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Theranostics is a treatment using diagnostic imaging to identify if target receptors are present on cancer cells.3,4
Radiation therapy for cancer
Radiation therapy kills cancer cells. It’s used in the early stages of cancer treatment or after it has started to spread.5
Chemotherapy treatment
Chemotherapy is medication that treats your cancer preventing them from dividing and spreading further.6
- Castelluccia A, et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022;19:10800.
- Hall WA, et al..CA Cancer J Clin 2022;72:34–56.
- Strahlenther Onkol. 2024;100(2):2358-9. doi:10.1007/s00066-024-02358-9.
- Radiat Oncol. 2023;18(1):2221-8. doi:10.1186/s13014-023-02221-8.
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