LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Slovenian Minister of Health Borut Miklavcic today officially unveiled the nation’s first Novalis Tx(TM) radiosurgery platform for modern radiotherapy and radiosurgery at the Oncology Institute of Ljubljana. The new treatment platform from Varian Medical Systems and BrainLAB will give Slovenian cancer patients in the country’s only radiotherapy department access to advanced radiotherapy and radiosurgery treatments, including Varian’s fast and precise RapidArc(R) technology.
With the new Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform, the clinic can complete complex radiosurgery by delivering more powerful doses to brain tumors or small metastatic lesions throughout the body in just one to five sessions. “We’re able to use the radiation beam rather than a scalpel to remove disease without making a single incision,” said Bozidar Casar. “It’s faster and much easier on patients.”
“Even though we work in two shifts using the six megavoltage treatment machines, our capacity is clearly insufficient to meet the current standard of fifty percent of cancer patients that should receive radiotherapy during the course of their disease,” says Professor Primoz Strojan, head of the radiotherapy department. “All patients with cancer that need radiotherapy have to come to our hospital. With Novalis Tx and RapidArc technology we are gaining a powerful weapon in our fight against cancer which should have, among many other benefits, a positive influence on bringing down waiting lists.”
Bozidar Casar says the clinic will be ready to deliver the full range of treatments when the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform with RapidArc capability is commissioned in mid-2010.
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, China, and Europe and in its 79 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com/
Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
