ECRI Institute releases user experience ratings on linear accelerators

18-06-2015

ECRI Institute, an independent non-profit specialising in patient safety improvement, risk and quality management, has released a report on linear accelerators.

The report, published by ECRI Institute’s SELECTplus User Experience Network, features user survey results on top linear accelerator-based radiosurgery systems. The report reveals that the average quoted price for these systems is between $3.2 million and $4.8 million.

“Linear accelerator costs are extremely high, so hospitals and cancer treatment centers need to keep cost, quality, and clinical outcomes at the forefront in their decision-making process,” said Jennifer Myers, ECRI Institute’s vice president of SELECT Health Technology Services. 

“We recognize the value that end-user experience and ratings can provide in ensuring the safe, cost-effective procurement of medical technology.”

Survey respondents rated linear accelerator models on a variety of criteria, including imaging capabilities, device interoperability, patient setup time, treatment speed, physics/calibration tools, and much more. The survey results are grouped by vendor and model to show how each vendor’s product line fares in each category.

The user data reveal that among ECRI Institute members, four vendors dominate the market: Accuray, Brainlab, Elekta, and Varian.

An excerpt from the survey report is available at www.ecri.org/linacs. The full report is available on ECRI Institute’s membership website, and includes feature-by-feature comparisons, member interest (market share), and other market analytics derived from ECRI Institute’s research and expert analyses. 

The SELECTplus User Experience Network is part of ECRI Institute’s comprehensive technology decision support resources. The Network, a component of ECRI Institute’s SELECTplus capital technology advisory service, is used by more than 3,500 member facilities from healthcare organizations worldwide. 

ECRI Institute, Jennifer Myers, US