Siemens Healthineers Introduces Accela Radiotherapy Platform at ASTRO 2026

Siemens Healthineers unveiled Accela, a new radiation therapy delivery platform engineered around NeoArc, or Dynamic Modulated Arc Therapy (DMAT), a breakthrough treatment technique combining speed and precision, at the 2026 ASTRO Annual Meeting.

The system is currently 510(k) pending and is not available for sale in any market.

Applied Radiation Oncology met with Roshni Datta, Head of Global Product Marketing, Radiation Oncology Solutions for Varian at Siemens Healthineers.  on the ASTRO exhibit floor for a closer look at the platform and the clinical and workflow challenges its developers sought to address.

Speed With a Clinical Purpose

Central to Accela is a completely redesigned C-arm linear accelerator incorporating a gantry capable of rotating at up to 2.5 RPM with NeoArc, a newly designed, dual-layer, multileaf collimator, dose rates up to 40 Gy/min, and a large HyperSight cone-beam CT imaging panel. According to Siemens Healthineers, the combination is intended to shorten the time required for imaging and treatment delivery.

During the demonstration, Datta emphasized that speed is important not simply from a throughput perspective, but because reducing treatment time may also limit the opportunity for patient motion and internal organ motion. “You essentially, in that sense, reduce the impact of motion because you’re treating so fast,” Datta said.

The potential is particularly relevant for breast and lung treatments requiring breath-hold techniques. Datta explained that repeated breath-holds can become increasingly difficult for patients to reproduce over the course of imaging and treatment. Hence, reduced treatment time could also improve patient experience and comfort during imaging and treatment while improving patient compliance with treatment. Accela powered by NeoArc is designed to reduce the number of breath-holds required in appropriate cases. Furthermore, Siemens Healthineers reports that Accela with NeoArc can enable stereotactic treatment within a single breath-hold.

Introducing a New Approach in Arc Therapy

NeoArc represents a central component of the platform. NeoArc dynamically coordinates gantry speed, modulation, multileaf collimator rotation, and dose rate to create conformal treatment plans while shortening treatment delivery time.

During the ASTRO demonstration, Datta described how the system can vary its delivery speed as the gantry moves around the patient, slowing at selected positions which may be advantageous according to the treatment plan rather than delivering radiation in the same manner throughout the arc.

The approach is supported by Eclipse Neo, a new planning module developed for NeoArc treatments and providing efficient adaptive radiotherapy. Existing techniques such as IMRT and VMAT remain supported via existing treatment planning platforms, an important consideration for centers already operating Varian treatment delivery systems. Datta also noted that treatment plans can be transferred between Accela and other Varian platforms, although NeoArc delivery itself is specific to Accela.

Potential for More Complex Treatment

Another area of interest is multi-site disease. Siemens Healthineers reports that Accela with NeoArc can enable multi-site SBRT treatment in as little as 60 seconds.

Datta said faster delivery could make treatment of patients with multiple lesions more practical by reducing the time required to address several targets during a treatment session. The potential implications include not only patient experience, but also workflow and the ability of radiation oncology departments to accommodate increasingly complex cases.

Development of Accela, Eclipse Neo and NeoArc included collaboration with an advisory group of cancer centers including Mayo Clinic, Washington University School of Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center, University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Maastro in the Netherlands, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Because Accela remains 510(k) pending,^* its ultimate clinical impact will depend on regulatory clearance and subsequent clinical experience. Its ASTRO debut, however, points toward a broader direction in linear accelerator development, one in which greater treatment speed is being pursued alongside precision to reduce treatment time and make increasingly complex radiation therapy more practical to deliver.

Image: Accela, the new radiotherapy platform from Siemens Healthineers, on display at ASTRO 2026 in Boston. The system is currently 510(k) pending and is not available for sale in any market. Photo: Applied Radiation Oncology.

Source and Disclosure: This article is based on information provided by Siemens Healthineers in “The Future of Radiotherapy is Here: Siemens Healthineers Launches Accela” (press release) and from an interview with Applied Radiation Oncology at ASTRO 2026. Generative AI was used to assist in drafting the article. Product and performance claims are attributed to Siemens Healthineers and have not been independently verified by Applied Radiation Oncology.

^*510(k) pending. Not available for sale in any market and no guarantee of commercialization or feature availability. Accela, Eclipse Neo and NeoArc are products of Varian Medical Systems, Inc., a Siemens Healthineers Company.