MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., July 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) will showcase innovative software for assessing how tumors respond to therapy at the 2007 meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) in Minneapolis, July 22-26. The I-Response™ technology from Cedara Software shows how tumors are responding to treatment at the biological level, often before changes in tumor shape or size become visible. Varian holds exclusive global distribution rights for the I-Response technology within the oncology treatment market.
The I-Response tool tracks changes in tumor tissue at the cellular and metabolic levels over time using sophisticated PET/CT analysis and a unique MR technique called functional diffusion mapping (fDM). This provides the potential for clinicians to monitor the impact of anti-cancer drugs and radiation therapy early in the course of treatment, so they can adapt their treatment strategies and personalize treatment plans.
"I-Response fits perfectly with our Dynamic Adaptive Radiotherapy (DART™) initiative for offering products that help clinicians deliver cancer care that is tailored to each individual patient," says Corey Zankowski, senior director for Varian's software business. "This tool will help doctors make clinical adjustments much earlier, based on real-time information about how the patient's tumor is responding to treatment."
Varian will exhibit the I-Response software product in the company's booth at the five-day meeting, and also in a presentation by Dan Hamstra, PhD, MD, medical physicist with the University of Michigan, at an "Emerging Technologies Symposium" on Monday, July 23 at 11:45 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis.
"We feel that the future of cancer treatment lies in personalized care that is based on data about a particular patient's tumor and how it is changing over time, rather than a 'one-size-fits-all' treatment protocol that may work for some and not for others," Zankowski says. "Varian is pleased to be able to offer our customers access to this powerful tool for adapting patient care."
Note to editors: High resolution image available for download in Varian's online newsroom at http://varian.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=media_library&cat=13.
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 4,400 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/.
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 "will," "provides the potential for," "can adapt," and "the future lies in" 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.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Meryl Ginsberg, 650-424-6444 Varian Medical Systems meryl.ginsberg@varian.com
SOURCE: Varian Medical Systems
CONTACT: Meryl Ginsberg, Varian Medical Systems, +1-650-424-6444, or
meryl.ginsberg@varian.com
Web site: http://www.varian.com/