Varian Medical Systems' Cancer Treatment Imaging Device Wins R&D 100 Award | Varian

{ "pageType": "news-article", "title": "Varian Medical Systems' Cancer Treatment Imaging Device Wins R&D 100 Award", "articleDate": "20. October 2006", "introText": "", "category": "Oncology" }

Varian Medical Systems' Cancer Treatment Imaging Device Wins R&D 100 Award

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today announced that the company's On-Board Imager® (OBI) device for image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) and image-guided radiosurgery (IGRS) has received an R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine as one of the 100 most technologically significant products of the past year. The OBI device is designed to improve the precision and effectiveness of radiotherapy treatments for cancer by giving doctors the ability to image, target, and track tumors at the time of treatment.

"We're honored to have the OBI recognized for this prestigious award," said Timothy Guertin, president and CEO of Varian Medical Systems. "We're committed to developing and commercializing innovative products that help doctors treat cancer more effectively, and we're hopeful that OBI will contribute to significantly higher cure rates. With OBI, clinicians can see and safely treat tumors with higher, more effective radiation doses while sparing more surrounding healthy tissue. The OBI device can be used to target tumors more precisely to help stop the spread of some early-stage metastatic cancers."

The OBI device combines advanced X-ray imaging capabilities with sophisticated software for planning and delivering image-guide radiotherapy (IGRT) and image-guided radiosurgery (IGRS) using medical linear accelerators. It pairs a low-dose, kilovoltage X-ray tube with a flat panel digital image detector (both made by Varian) for real-time filmless imaging. It generates high-resolution radiographic, fluoroscopic, and 3D cone-beam CT images for locating tumors and tracking their movements.

"The combination of software and X-ray imaging technologies is revolutionizing radiotherapy and radiosurgery," said Calvin Huntzinger, MS, marketing and engineering manager for Varian's Surgical Sciences product line. "It represents the culmination of an extensive, multi-disciplinary team effort that involved research and development by Varian experts from many different sites across the globe. The team members all derived a great sense of personal satisfaction in solving the challenging technical problems to profoundly impact the quality of cancer treatment available to people."

By the end of July 2006, Varian had shipped more than 250 OBI devices for use in hospitals and treatment centers around the world.

The R&D Awards are given out annually, and are widely known to industry, government, and academia as a mark of excellence demonstrating that a product realizes one of the most innovative ideas of the year. More on the awards can be found online at http://www.rdmag.com/awards.html

ABOUT VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California is the world's leading manufacturer of medical technology for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, brachytherapy, and radiosurgery. The company is also a premier supplier of X-ray tubes and digital image detectors for imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications. The company's high-energy imaging systems are also used for screening cargo. 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. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com/.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
  Spencer Sias, (650) 424-5782
  spencer.sias@varian.com

  Meryl Ginsberg, (650) 424-6444
  meryl.ginsberg@varian.com

SOURCE: Varian Medical Systems

CONTACT: Spencer Sias, +1-650-424-5782, or spencer.sias@varian.com, or
Meryl Ginsberg, +1-650-424-6444, or meryl.ginsberg@varian.com, both of Varian
Medical Systems

Web site: http://www.varian.com/