Sunnybrook’s Cancer Ablation Therapy Program harnesses a range of precision therapies to destroy tumours without the need for invasive surgery.
Cancer Ablation Therapy Program
The program has acquired three game-changing radiation technologies that will allow Sunnybrook to provide individualized, precision care to more patients, and conduct leading-edge research to invent the future of health care.
Sunnybrook is the first in Canada to have this trio of highly specialized cancer ablation therapy machines.
These precise machines will help change the way we target tumours and expand our individualized, patient-centred approach.
Our researchers will help perfect the way these machines are used to treat patients in the best and safest ways possible.
Learn more about these three, first-in-Canada technologies
MR-Linac
Doctors at Sunnybrook's Odette CancerCentre can now watch a beam of radiationmove through a patient's body in real time anddirect that beam precisely at a tumour.
Gamma Knife Icon
With the Icon, our cancer experts can offer precision radiation to a broader group of patients – for instance, to people with as many as 30 brain tumours.
MRI-Brachytherapy Suite
Sunnybrook doctors can now guide internal radiation treatment, called brachytherapy, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Timeline of Cancer Ablation Therapy milestones
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MR-Brachytherapy construction started
June 2015
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Gamma Knife Installation complete
October 7, 2016
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Gamma Knife Icon installation complete
June 5, 2017 -
First in Canada: Gamma Knife Icon targets brain metastases
June 2017First Gamma Knife Icon patient with multiple metastases treated in Canada.
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MR–Linac installation initiated at Sunnybrook
July 2017 -
50th patient treated on the Gamma Knife Icon using mask.
August 2017
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First MRI-brachytherapy patient with real-time imaging
September 13, 2017 -
MR-Linac beam turned on for first time in Canada
September 14, 2017
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First pictures taken on Sunnybrook's MR-Linac
May 31, 2018
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First human images taken on Sunnybrook's MR-Linac
February 2019
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First patient treatment on Sunnybrook's MR-Linac
August 2019
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First Sunnybrook prostate patient treated on MR-Linac Elekta Unity
November 2019
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First Sunnybrook prostate patient treated on MR-Linac Elekta Unity
March 202022
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Upper abdominal patient receives first treatment on MR-Linac – Elekta Unity
December 2022
Meet our team
Sunnybrook’s leading Cancer Ablation Therapy Program was made possible with the generous support from industry partners (Elekta, Phillips), FedDev grants, CFI grants and philanthrophic donors.
