Learn more about the two senior consultants Hans Behrendt and Gerhard Schumacher who have extensive experience in the health sector and in implementing IOERT

1. IOERT-Project Consultancy
To ensure a professional support to hospitals for introducing a mobile linear accelerator, the
special IOERT-Consultancy was established.
The installation, introduction and handling of these mobile Linacs has to be done according
to physical requirements, furthermore a qualified handling and service for this sensitive
equipment is needed after installation. The hospital specialists would be overburdened to
put in place and follow all requirements.
This was shown by the installation of the first five systems in Germany.
The intra-operative project consultancy introduces the interested hospitals to the suppliers,
lays out product differences and leads the decision-making process so that the hospital
can come to a funded conclusion what system is best at their place. Then is very impor-
tant to consider the general requirements considering the existing rooms with regard to ra-
diation protection and its measurements under control of the physics.
The cooperation of the different professional groups in a house needs an intelligent pre-
paration to ensure a smooth process for the interdisciplinary coordination afterwards. These
are some aspects concerning the IOERT-Project Consultancy. Please find further infor-
mation in the following exposure:
Project-Concultancy for intra-operative radiation therapy with electron beam.
The IOERT-technique has been on the market around 10 years, which two Italian and one
US-company globally share. In Germany the first IOERT-System (Novac 7) was installed
at Aachen University seven years ago. Another device (Mobetron) has been installed at
Marburg University in 2008, at the Elisabeth Hospital in Cologne (Mobetron) and at the
Frauenklinik hospital of Düsseldorf University in 2010. A first Linac system is currently eva-
luated at Heidelberg University.
Our project consultancy for hospitals has been developed right from the beginning in Ger-
many (Aachen), as neither the Italian firms nor the US company IntraOP are able to fulfil
all necessarily precise requirements for a mobile linear accelerator from their places of ma-
nufacturing to a satisfied level due to German requirements. Therefore we provide a glo-
bal service to cover this challenge for all interested hospitals.

2. The installation of an IOERT-System starts with searching the suitable operation room wit-
hin the hospital. Already here it is important to consider several specific details (e.g. the size
of the room, the environment of the operation room, static of its floor, possibility of lead
glazing, daily personal traffic, height of the room, access for transport and installation etc.).
The next step is an early internal agreement about the use of the IOERT-Method with the
interdisciplinary coordination between the related departments of the hospital.
Once rooms, persons, finances etc. have been agreed on, the product evaluation starts,
which is prepared and attended by us and decided by the hospital management.
After these general preconditions and before a final decision, an external and approved
physicist (liability law) has to prepare a feasibility study (radiation protection) along with
the local physicist.
According to these figures and the legal requirements the reconstruction of the chosen
operation room can be started. All former installations showed that the challenges can be
quite different.
After a clarification of these questions along with financial and organisational aspects the
wished system can be ordered. The realisation then starts with getting offers from specia-
lized German firms which cover the legally required sections like patient monitoring, lead
glazing of single walls and/or doors, electrical safety circuits within and around the IOERT-
Operation-Room, dosimetry test equipment etc.
The project attendance takes care and monitors the single measurements during the rea-
lisation phase. Finally and after a successful simulation of a complete IOERT-treatment
the operating licence will be given as soon as possible without cost-effective corrections.
For the official handing over and start up of the system a PR-efficient event should be plan-
ned. This event has to be positioned as a highlight especially for all cancer sufferers, the
medical fraternity and the regional health funds to provoke a strong feedback, especially
with the first installed system within a region.
According to our experience we know about the necessity of such a consultancy package
and therefore provide our Know-How.