SAMARA, Russia, Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Samara Oncology Center in Russia is moving to initiate advanced cancer treatment programs, including image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), using new equipment ordered from Varian Medical Systems . The cancer center has ordered Russia’s first Varian On-Board Imager(TM) for treating its patients with IGRT, which improves precision by tracking and adjusting for tumor motion.
To help support these and other new cancer treatment programs, Varian Medical Systems -- the world leader in radiotherapy technology -- has opened its first sales and service office in Russia.
The Samara Oncology Center has ordered two new Varian Clinac(R) linear accelerators, along with the On-Board Imager device. Formerly known as Kuybyshev during the Soviet era and situated about 700 miles south-east of Moscow, Samara is the fifth largest city in Russia with 1.2 million inhabitants. The 550-bed Samara Oncology Center was completed in 2004 and treatment equipment is currently being installed.
One of the two linear accelerators at Samara is equipped with a 120-leaf multileaf collimator which enables clinicians to carry out the latest in stereotactic and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatments. The second Clinac is equipped with an On-Board Imager device. The center has also acquired Varian’s PortalVision(TM) amorphous silicon verification system, the Eclipse(TM) treatment planning software and an Acuity(TM) simulation and planning system.
Varian’s On-Board Imager is a digital imaging device mounted on the treatment machine via robotically controlled arms that operate along three axes of motion so that they can be positioned optimally for the best possible view of the tumor. This device produces high-resolution images in three modes -- radiographic, fluoroscopic and Cone-beam CT -- of the area to be treated. In addition, it can track tumor motion to provide doctors with a clear indication of exactly how a tumor will move during treatment due to respiration or other repeatable physiological cycles.
New office
The new Moscow office will allow Varian to better serve the rapidly growing Russian medical equipment market. “We have tripled our sales volume in Russia in the last three years and it was clear that we needed to open our own facility in order to better serve our growing number of Russian customers,” says Roger Leibundgut, Varian’s regional sales manager. “It means we will be well placed to participate fully in the expected future growth.”
The new office opens at a time when Russia’s Ministry of Health has just announced a 60 percent budget increase in healthcare spending, leading to a growing demand for healthcare equipment.
Moscow contact: Sergey Burov, Ph.D, Sales Manager, Varian Russia, +7 (495) 204 4423, sergey.burov@varian.com
Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068, neil.madle@varian.com
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. of Palo Alto, California is the world’s leading supplier of equipment and software for treating cancer. The company is also a premier supplier of components including X-ray tubes and flat-panel detectors for medical, scientific, and industrial imaging. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 3,280 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 55 sales and support offices around the world. The company operates manufacturing and engineering centers in Baden (Switzerland), Crawley (England), Haan (Germany), Helsinki (Finland) and Toulouse (France) and has headquarters for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEA) based in Zug, Switzerland. Additional information is available on the company’s web site at www.varian.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding future business, events, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates, and other similar matters, including, but not limited to, statements using the terms “can” and “expect,” constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the risks described in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s judgment as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements because of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Neil Madle of Varian Medical Systems, +44-7786-526068, orneil.madle@varian.com; or Moscow, Sergey Burov, Ph.D, Sales Manager ofVarian Russia, +7-495-204-4423, or sergey.burov@varian.com
Web site: http://www.varian.com//
