A Four-Year-Old Linear Accelerator Enters the Pre-Owned Equipment Market

The competition for pre-owned, medical linear accelerators has never been fiercer.  With the cost of a new Varian, Elekta or Accuray linear accelerator well above $1 million, many centers in remote regions are having difficulty finding affordable medical equipment.  What makes this even more challenging is that the supply of used equipment is low and continues to decrease.  The top two major linac manufacturers are openly disposing of used equipment, making it difficult to source high quality, used radiation oncology equipment.

It’s rare to see a linear accelerator less than five years old enter the secondary market; and when they are found, they are generally purchased very quickly by a lucky buyer.

This four-year-old Varian Trilogy linear accelerator became available in January 2020 as a result of a medical center in the United States permanently closing.  It’s been used very little and is exceptionally well equipped with:

• OBI (KV-On Board Imager) v. 1.6
• CBCT (Cone Beam CT) v. 2.1
• RapidArc/VVMAT Application Installed
• aS1000 (E-Arm) v. 7.5sw
• Millennium 120 Leaf MLC 8.1
• 6, 10 MV Photon Energies
• 6MV (FFF) High Intensity Proton
• 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 MeV Electron Energies
• Electron Max Dose Rate: 100-600 and 1000 mu/min
• Photon Max Dose Rate: 100-600 mu/min, 1400 mu/min (FFF)
• 4DiTC Version 13.0
• Windows 7
• Console Software Version: 9.01
• Exact Patient Couch w/ IGRT top Couch
• 425 Beam Hours
• Accessories Upper and Lower wedges of 15/30/45/60 degree

Fewer Trilogy models are manufactured today than they were 10 years ago, since Varian introduced the TrueBeam.  However the Trilogy and iX models are more popular in the secondary market. Trilogy and iX’s are less expensive to maintain and service, and there are ample parts available for both machines in the new and secondary radiation treatment markets.  Whereas the TrueBeam linear accelerator is more expensive to service and maintain, and some of its newer parts are much more expensive to replace.  Additionally, there are fewer engineers available to service and maintain TrueBeams.  This makes the Trilogy linear accelerator even more attractive to cost-sensitive buyers.

Radiology Oncology Systems is a provider of diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy equipment to the medical community.  For over 20 years, the ROS team has placed quality, affordable medical equipment systems, including linear accelerators, CT Scanners, MRI Systems, and PET/CT Scanners in areas of the work that require lower cost structures.  Much of the equipment is installed in under-served regions of the U.S., and a significant amount is exported to developing and emerging markets.