Only Radiotherapy Department in State of Qatar to Introduce State-of-the-Art Treatments including RapidArc(TM) Technology
DOHA, Qatar, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- One of the leading cancer centers in the Middle East has acquired two advanced radiotherapy devices from Varian Medical Systems equipped with RapidArc(TM) technology for fast and precise treatments. Al Amal Hospital in Doha, Qatar, is replacing four-year-old linear accelerators from another manufacturer with Trilogy(R) and Clinac(R) iX devices, in order to provide patients with more modern and efficient treatments.
The new equipment, ordered in February and scheduled to be installed in May, will enable clinicians in Qatar’s only radiation therapy center to begin treatments using RapidArc, Varian’s latest technology for delivering image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with greater precision and up to eight times faster than is possible with conventional IMRT.
Dr. Noora Mohammed Al-Hammadi, head of the department of radiation oncology, said, “Evidence suggests that RapidArc will revolutionize the way IMRT is delivered and potentially improve patient outcomes. Faster treatment that more closely conform radiation doses to the size, shape and location of the tumor are always desirable in radiotherapy, for both machine throughput as well as patient outcomes. We are very excited about the potential of RapidArc.”
RapidArc delivers a precise and efficient treatment in single or multiple arcs of the medical linear accelerator around the patient. Varian’s Clinac and Trilogy accelerators can target beams at a tumor while continuously rotating around the patient. Conventional IMRT treatments are slower for radiotherapists because they use many fixed angle beams rather than a continuous rotational beam.
Part of the Hamad Medical Corporation, the government provider of health in the State of Qatar, Al Amal Hospital treats patients from across the Gulf region. Its patients represent a complex mix of all types of tumors, including pediatric cases and a large proportion of breast cancer patients. The department aims to become a recognized Centre of Excellence in image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) for the region within five years.
“This is the vision and we are already well on our way,” says Dr Al-Hammadi. “We have always ensured that the treatments offered to the population of Qatar match those found in any major state-of-the-art cancer center in the world. In keeping with this mandate, we evaluated offerings from all three major vendors, as well as other arc therapy techniques such as helical tomotherapy, and decided that Varian had the most advanced systems and the most clinically integrated system to meet our needs.”
“Varian’s equipment and software supports our belief in seamless care. The ability to implement both RapidArc and stereotactic radiosurgery using 3D image guidance will allow us to offer better precision. In addition, the ARIA(TM) oncology information management system will enable us to go paperless and be fully integrated to the hospital’s imaging systems, meaning better workflow and better overall patient care.”
Michael Sandhu, head of Varian’s Oncology Systems business in the EMEA region, said, “This decision by one of the foremost radiotherapy departments in the Middle East shows that what’s most important for customers in this region is not just the latest, most up-to-date technology but also equipment performance and reliability, along with a strong service and support organization in the Gulf region. A huge plus for Varian is our service office and bonded warehouse facility in Bahrain. We have 18 service people including dedicated IT service personnel in the region and they are on hand to provide fast support for local customers.”
Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world’s leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 5,100 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 60 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com/.
CONTACT: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068
Web site: http://www.varian.com/
