Little Linacs
In 2023, UHB Charity and the Radiotherapy Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham managed to raise enough funds to continue the Little Linac Project for children and young people undergoing radiotherapy across the Midlands. In 2018, Professor David Brettle started the ‘Little Linac Project’ when he was president of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM). This project provided kits for children undergoing radiotherapy across the UK for several years, but this unfortunately came to an end.
Now, UHB Charity have been able to provide each child that goes through radiotherapy with a Little Linac Set. Radiotherapy, a form of cancer treatment using high energy X-rays, usually consists of 30 daily treatments. The Little Linac set is a miniature building block set that can be used to build a replica of a radiotherapy machine, CT scanner and MRI scanner that children with a cancer diagnosis would see throughout their treatment.
This encourages children to learn about their treatment through play, building an awareness of the different types of machines, making it less scary. The fantastic thing about the Little Linac is that with the right preparation a child can be co-operative with the radiotherapy team and avoid the use of daily anaesthetic during their treatment. The Little Linac set helps to build a rapport with the therapeutic radiographers which can alleviate any anxieties and improve communication with the child.
Two-year-old Arlo (pictured) had radiotherapy in 2022 and was given a Little Linac. His dad, Stephen (pictured left), told us, “You can often feel helpless as a parent in these emotional situations, so to have something to distract Arlo with was amazing. He recognised the Tomotherapy unit (the radiotherapy machine, that looks similar to the image above) from the Little Linac set when having his treatment, making it less scary for him and less emotional for us. He also took it home to show his family and friends. We’re so proud of our brave little man.”
Paediatric Specialist Therapeutic Radiographer, Liam Herbert, told us how useful these are when treating children with cancer, “The Little Linacs are great at helping me prepare children for radiotherapy. If a child is nervous, I am able to use the Little Linacs to help familiarise the child with radiotherapy and the machines we use to deliver this important treatment. They often then take these Little Linacs home to build with their family or friends and show off how brave they have been.”
The Little Linacs are now available to purchase! Each set costs £15 and this will also provide a child or young person on radiotherapy with their very own set too. If you’re interested in purchasing a set, please email uhb-tr.midlandspaediatricradiotherapy@nhs.net
