BXTAccelyon, the leading low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy partner to hospitals and clinics worldwide and the sole distribution partner outside North America for the new PrecisionPoint™ Transperineal Access System, is pleased to announce that for the fifth consecutive year it is the platinum sponsor for the 2018 UK & Ireland Prostate Brachytherapy Conference. The conference, which is being hosted by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, will take place on Friday 23rd March at the Spa Hotel Royal Tunbridge Wells.

The UK and Ireland Prostate Brachytherapy Group was originally set up to help centres developing brachytherapy in the UK & Ireland to improve and retain expertise in all aspects of prostate brachytherapy. Today, the conference stands as the most important forum for UK and Ireland’s brachytherapists involved in either Low Dose Rate (LDR) or High Dose Rate (HDR) Prostate brachytherapy.

The day’s extensive agenda will cover a wide-range of key topics – from imaging and boost therapy through to the future of medical journals. BXTAccelyon will also be showcasing the PrecisionPoint™ Transperineal Access System. Developed in response to the increased adoption of active surveillance and the disadvantages in transrectal biopsy approaches, PrecisionPoint™, which has been developed and patented by the US based company Perineologic, is the first FDA approved and CE marked device that allows a free-handed transperineal biopsy of the prostate. The low-cost, disposable device represents a new approach to prostate cancer detection at an earlier stage of progression, through its ability to systematically allow access to the whole prostate gland.

With the likes of Stephen Fry, Michael Parkinson and Bill Turnbull all lifting the taboo and leading conversations about Prostate Cancer, now is as good a time as any to ensure that patient choice is at the heart of the treatment options on offer. Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust champions the latest technology in the treatment of prostate cancer, offering patients combined therapy EBRT and LDR-B, salvage treatment and 4D Brachytherapy. A one stage, real time implant technique, 4D Brachytherapy uses a simple clinic based ultrasound scan to calculate the number of stranded and loose seeds required for the procedure, providing both better targeted treatment and a better patient experience.

Dr Sharon Beesley, Deputy Medical Director for the Kent Oncology Centre, comments: “Maidstone Hospital is at the forefront of prostate cancer treatments. As a specialist 4D brachytherapy centre we are proud to be able to treat patients with the latest technology, while also enhancing the patient experience and extending the choice provided in the traditional patient pathway. To be able to host some of the leading oncologists and urologists in the world is a real accolade and firmly puts Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust on the map.”