Three Winship radiation oncology specialists assisted radiation oncologists at the Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with commissioning of the country’s first modern linear particle accelerator (LINAC).
March 9, 2020
On February 20th, three specialists from Winship's Department of Radiation Oncology traveled to Ethiopia to assist radiation oncologists at the Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the acceptance testing and commissioning of the country's first modern linear particle accelerator, or LINAC machine. Tian Liu, PhD, DABR, Winship's director of medical physics, and Oluwatosin Kayode, CMD, RT, Winship's dosimetry chief, trained the Ethiopian physicians and physicists on the radiation oncology treatment planning system known as Eclipse and Sean Dresser, MS, DABMP, Winship's medical physics operations, assisted with the commissioning of this new LINAC machine.
The visit is part of an ongoing effort by Winship Cancer Institute and the Department of Radiation Oncology to assist Addis Ababa University and Black Lion Hospital's efforts to modernize cancer care in Ethiopia. This collaboration has included two prior visits by Winship's radiation oncology team to the Black Lion Hospital and a visit by a team of medical physicists and physicians to Winship's radiation oncology facilities in 2019.
"The commissioning of Ethiopia's first linear accelerator is a major step forward for this nation and its efforts against cancer. For this nation of over 100 million residents, this unit should be the first of many such life-saving linear accelerators. To date, radiation oncology care in Ethiopia has been delivered on a handful of Cobalt-60 units, which are considered relatively outdated by today's standards. Winship recognizes the incredible work executed by Tian, Tosin, Sean, and all the participants in this collaboration as well as the importance of this effort to the citizens of Ethiopia!" states Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD, Winship executive director and Lawrence W. Davis Chair in Radiation Oncology.