The Royal Devon Hospitals Charity has launched the Light Beam Radiotherapy Appeal, targeting £650,000 to fund Surface Guided Radiotherapy technology at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. The charity is raising the funds independently because the NHS does not cover the cost of the equipment, which hospital staff say would significantly improve patient comfort and treatment precision.
What the Devon charity is trying to fund
Surface Guided Radiotherapy, known as SGRT, uses ceiling-mounted cameras and light beams to create a real-time 3D outline of a patient’s body during treatment. The system monitors movement continuously and pauses automatically if it detects any shift that could affect accuracy, including changes caused by swelling or weight loss.
Currently, many radiotherapy patients must wear restrictive immobilisation devices, including closed-face masks, and receive permanent tattoos to guide beam positioning. SGRT removes the need for tattoos entirely and allows treatment to be delivered with less restrictive equipment, such as open-face masks. The charity aims to install the cameras across three linear accelerator treatment rooms at the hospital, as well as an additional unit in the radiotherapy CT room to support motion-controlled breathing treatments.
“This is about enhancing patient care and going over and above what the NHS can currently provide,” said Jennifer Wilson, Lead Brachytherapy Physicist at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
The appeal targets 1,800 cancer patients a year who currently receive radiotherapy at the hospital. The technology is already operating in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, placing Devon behind several major treatment centres, a gap that campaigns aimed at modernising regional cancer care have increasingly sought to close.
Charity appeal goes beyond NHS provision
The Royal Devon Hospitals Charity has a history of funding equipment and facilities that sit outside the NHS budget. Previous appeals funded the £1.5 million Fern Centre cancer wellbeing facility in North Devon and a £2.2 million chemotherapy unit at North Devon District Hospital.
The Light Beam appeal is now live and accepting public donations. Supporters can contribute directly through the charity’s fundraising page or take part in upcoming events including a cliff abseil challenge on August 1 and a charity concert by Devon swing ensemble AJ’s Big Band. The approach reflects a pattern seen across British hospital charities, where publicly funded appeals bridge the gap between NHS budgets and patient-centered innovation in cancer care.