TAIPEI, Taiwan, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists at a leading cancer hospital in Taiwan are utilizing the world’s most versatile medical linear accelerator to carry out highly precise intra-cranial stereotactic radiosurgery treatments. Patients at the Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital in Taipei are benefiting from the latest in state-of-the-art radiotherapy treatments delivered using Varian Medical Systems’ Trilogy(R) accelerator.
Dr. Jing-Min Hwang, the hospital’s director of radiation oncology, said he expects the Trilogy machine will enable him to expand his stereotactic radiosurgery program from brain treatments to treatments throughout the whole body.
“There are several neurosurgeons here who co-operate with us to treat brain tumor patients, although we often deliver the full treatment ourselves here in radiation oncology,” said Dr. Hwang. “We have treated patients with acoustic neuroma, meningioma, brainstem neuroma and CP angle tumor with stereotactic, image-guided and intensity-modulated radiosurgery using both frame and frameless techniques. It’s very useful having a device that is versatile enough to deliver the full range of treatments and fast and reliable enough to deliver them within standard treatment times.”
Doctors at the center are currently treating up to 70 patients a day on the Trilogy device, which is the only linear accelerator at the facility. The versatile “all-in-one” device began treating patients last year. In late June this year, specialists from throughout Taiwan visited Tzu Chi to see the machine in action.
The Trilogy is used for a variety of treatments as well as radiosurgery, including 3D conformal radiotherapy, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), with treatment slots lasting 8-10 minutes for conventional treatments, 10-15 minutes for 3D conformal radiotherapy and 12-18 minutes for IMRT.
Dr. Hwang said image-guided procedures make it fast and easy to verify the patient’s position at the time of treatment. “It was very hard to do this on older machines because we needed to use film and sometimes corrections to the couch position had to wait until the following day,” he added. “Now we can do this real-time.”
Mr Chia-Ping Lin, the president of Varian’s agent in Taiwan for 38 years, said the Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital in Taipei has also decided to install one Varian low energy Clinac(R) accelerator dedicated to IMRT by the end of this year due to increasing patient demand.
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 manufacturer of medical technology for treating cancer with radiotherapy and neurological conditions with radiosurgery. The company is also a premier supplier of X-ray tubes and flat-panel digital subsystems for imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 3,600 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 56 sales and support offices around the world. In Europe, 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 http://www.varian.com/
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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
Web site: http://www.varian.com/
