What's a LINAC?
Published Monday, April 13, 2026
A linear accelerator (LINAC) used to deliver advanced radiation treatment at the Cancer Centre.
A New Linear Accelerator is Coming to Thunder Bay – and the Cancer Centre Needs Our Help with Renovations and Installation
Radiation therapy is an excellent way of killing cancer cells while avoiding healthy tissue. Staff at Regional Cancer Care Northwest – our Cancer Centre – uses a large device called a linear accelerator or LINAC to generate an intense beam of radiation. This advanced treatment is commonly used for solid tumours including breast cancer, lung cancer, and others.
As you can imagine, radiation therapy is an expensive and complicated process, and the LINAC has to be in perfect working order. However, most LINACs last between eight and 10 years – and the oldest one at the Cancer Centre is now past that.
The Ontario Government has provided the funding to purchase the Linac itself, but the Cancer Centre needs our help to cover costs associated with renovations and installation.
Your donation to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation today will help renovate the radiation suite and fund the installation of the new, state-of-the-art LINAC. With your support, we can ensure that cancer patients can get the radiation treatments they need, when they need it, closer to home.
So how exactly does the LINAC work?
The secret is an intense beam of radiation that is “shaped” to hit the tumour exactly. Radiation therapy is complicated, but here's one way to think about it. Imagine you are making bunny shadows using a flashlight. Your fingers block the light shining on the wall to make the silhouette of a rabbit. The LINAC works like that, but in reverse: the bunny is the radiation beam and the area around it is dark, protecting healthy tissue. Radiation Treatment Planning creates a 3D image of the tumour in precise detail. Metal plates called leaves cover the LINAC beam to create the right shape, just like your bunny shadow. Software helps plan when and where the radiation hits that tumour for maximum effect.
That's not all. Staff can “dim” or “brighten” the radiation beam as needed. You want the beam to be less intense to avoid hitting healthy tissue with too much radiation. But if you can tightly focus on the tumour and shield the healthy tissue, you can increase the intensity because you know the healthy tissue is safe.
Today's technology targets tumours more precisely than ever. But the technology has changed so much that the radiation therapy suite needs renovations to accommodate it. For example, the newer machine is bigger and heavier, which means the radiation suite needs more concrete to support that weight and to provide additional radiation shielding. Other renovations include electrical upgrades, and new HVAC and plumbing system to regulate temperature and humidity.
The new LINAC also needs add-ons to extend its use including a specialized treatment bed that allows for precise patient positioning, the leaves mentioned above for helping shape radiation beams, and internal system upgrades that allow for faster treatment times.
That's where you can help. The total cost for renovations and equipment add-ons is expected to be just over $1 million. Your donation to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation today will ensure the radiation therapy suite will be ready to go.
Let's make sure cancer patients have access to this life-saving therapy! Call the Donation Centre today at 807-345-HOPE (4673) or donate online at: healthsciencesfoundation.ca/cancer
Article By: Graham Strong