At the ASTRO Annual Conference, held in Boston, USA, from 26 to 30 September 2026, Siemens Healthines officially launched a new radiotherapy system, Accela. This is the first software-driven release delivery system designed for NeoArc technology - Dynamic Modified Arc Therapy, DMAT. The core innovation of the system is to reduce significantly the three stages of treatment planning, delivery and self-adaptation, with the aim of shortening the treatment cycle, increasing the dose accuracy and enabling the therapeutic team to complete real-time adjustments of the treatment programme without disrupting clinical work processes.
The release of Accela marked a shift in radiotherapy from "hardware dominance" to "software definition". While the traditional discharge system relies on physical multileaf rasters and complex mechanical movements to adjust the ray beams, NeoArc technology adjusts the dose distribution dynamically in arc therapy by software algorithms, theoretically achieving equivalent or better tumor control effects within fewer treatments.
According to the official release of Siemens Medical Services during Astro 2026, Accela was defined as the "first software-driven delivery system" with the aim of serving the new treatment technology of NeoArc (DMAT). DMAT allows treatment programmes to change in real time during arc rotation, while non-traditional static arc or fixed field models. This means that the dose output from different angles in the same arc can be independently regulated to better fit the three-dimensional shape of the tumor and to protect the normal tissue around it.
Key capacities of Accela include: accelerating the production and delivery rate of the release programme; supporting real-time self-adaptation during treatment; and integrating image guidance with dose calculation depth through software integration. Siemens Medical has positioned the system as a comprehensive upgrading of treatment workflow efficiency - from simulation positioning to design to treatment implementation - each chain has been compressed.
The landing of Accela is not an isolated incident. At the same conference, the Mirion Medical subsidiary Sun Nuclar announced that its AdaptCHECKTM software had achieved interoperability with the Accela system through joint validation with Siemens medical technical experts and clinical partners. AdaptCHECK is a Sun Nuclar quality assurance software for self-adaptation and treatment monitoring based on the SunCHECK patient workflow that provides rapid patient-specific dose verification, covering double-dose calculations, scheduled recalculations of the day and log file-based treatment monitoring.
Margaret Johns, President of the Sun Nuclar Quality Assurance Department of Recreation, said: "To be able to reach its full potential, self-adaptation must be fast and efficient. AdaptCHECK provides the speed and efficiency required to validate self-adaptation of the NeoArc program, and does not interfere with clinical work processes." She also revealed that Sun Nuclar has demonstrated the ability to make rapid double-dose calculations of NeoArc treatment on Accela.
The significance of this collaboration lies in the fact that the clinical adoption of any new treatment system is not dependent on a mature chain of quality assurance tools. The pre-adaptation of Sun Nuclar means that Accela was fully equipped with QA ecological support at the beginning of its roll-out, lowering the technical threshold for the introduction of the new system at the Centre.
Accela is not the only medical move by Siemens on Astro 2026. During the same period, the company also demonstrated several important products and advances in radiotherapy:
Photons Count CT Release Planning System : Siemens Medical Services for the first time featured at the ASTRO 2025 Congress, Naeotom Alpha.Prime Photons Count CT Scanner was designed specifically for treatment. The system uses the CdTe crystal detector, which provides higher image resolution and contrasts and allows for more accurate calculations of the interaction of rays with tissues, thus optimizing the dosage plan. The scanner supports digital workflow integration with the oncology information system ARIA CORE1, where prescriptions for treatment and scanning requirements can be transferred directly to the equipment and an appropriate release scanning protocol is automatically selected.
Federal financial support: Health Division of the United States Agency for Advanced Research and Planning (ARPA-H) awarded $60 million to Siemens Medical Services for the promotion of Phototon Flash Radiotherapy technology. This is a federally funded project for cancer treatment that reflects the policy support of the United States Government for the next generation of treatment technologies.
MAGNETOM Sola RT Pro edition: Siemens Medicine has also launched a RT Pro version of MAGNETOM Sola on ASTRI 2026, an MRI imaging system designed specifically for EPR.
Varian Integration Progress: Valian Medical Systems, which completed its acquisition in 2024, presented software and image innovations at the conference, together with Siemens Medical, emphasizing individualized patient care through integration. The European Commission had previously approved this large-scale M&A.
The introduction of Accela and associated technologies directly affects the following groups:
The rehabilitation centre and the team of physicists: Accela has changed the process of treatment planning and delivery. Physicists need to be familiar with the design logic of the NeoArc technology and dosagers need to master new self-adaptation certification tools. AdaptCHECK of Sun Nuclar provides a package, but the team still needs to be trained to take full advantage of the new system.
** The software-driven properties of Accela may change the competitive pattern of the therapeutic equipment market. Systems providers that traditionally rely on hardware fixation are under pressure to convert technology. At the same time, supporting suppliers such as QA software, video guidance systems and oncology information systems need to ensure compatibility with Accela.
Patients with cancer: from the patient ' s point of view, the increased efficiency of Accela represents a shorter treatment cycle, more accurate dose delivery and better normal tissue protection. Self-adaptation can adjust programmes in real time in the course of treatment in response to changes in tumours, especially for tumour patients with sensitive positions or larger sizes.
Regulatory bodies and standards in the therapeutic sector: ASTRO and the European Society of Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) announced at the Congress that they would work together to develop clinical guidance on therapeutic treatment and that the emergence of new technologies would contribute to updating standards and norms.
Accela is in the early stages of publication. Clinical users and rehabilitation centres need to focus on the following issues:
The first is the official business schedule of the system. Siemens has not yet announced the date of listing of Accela and the progress of its approvals in the regions, and the release centres are required to confirm the status of supervision and approval before making procurement decisions.
Second is the rate of accumulation of clinical evidence for NeoArc/DMAT technology. The widespread adoption of new technologies relies on large-scale clinical studies to demonstrate the survival benefits and cost-effectiveness of existing technologies, and the release of research data during and after the period ASTRO 2026 will be a key node.
The third is the operational efficiency of self-adaptation to the therapeutic stream. The Sun Nuclar validation indicates that the QA link is ready, but the full chain efficiency improvement from simulation positioning to planned delivery still needs to be tested in a real clinical environment.
The fourth is the progress of the ARPA-H funded photo-lighting study. A federal investment of $6 million means that the technology route is strategically supported at the national level, and its clinical transformation schedule will influence the next generation of treatment technology.
Overall, the release of Accela was an important step in the transition of Siemens medical care from the equipment supplier to the "Software+Image+" integration platform in the field of therapeutic treatment. In the ASTRO 2026 stage, which brings together professionals from the global therapeutic community, Siemens gives a clear signal to industry through the central display of Accela and its associated ecology that the future of the therapeutic system will be defined by software, not just by the sophistication of hardware.