Queen's Hospital Offering Cancer Patients More Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments with New Equipment from Varian Medical Systems | Varian

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Queen's Hospital Offering Cancer Patients More Advanced Radiotherapy Treatments with New Equipment from Varian Medical Systems

Romford, England - January 16, 2007 - The new Queen's Hospital in Romford, north-east London, has commenced advanced radiotherapy treatments for cancer patients using new equipment and software from Varian Medical Systems.

Four Varian Clinac® iX linear accelerators - the machines that deliver radiotherapy treatments - have been installed at the new facility. The first two of these machines began clinical treatments in December and the others are due to start treating cancer patients in January.

Neil Dancer, deputy head of radiotherapy physics at Queens Hospital, said, "This is good news for local patients as it means more advanced treatments with better ability to conform beams to the shape of the tumor." Using intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) the hospital has the potential to enhance treatment outcomes by improving cure rates and reducing complications.

By selecting one equipment supplier, the centre is aiming to improve reliability and serve more patients. "One of the benefits of having equipment and software from one vendor is that we have a greater ability to switch patients between machines," added Dancer. "The people here in the radiotherapy unit want a department where everything talks to everything else and there is just one point of contact. That is why we selected Varian."

Seeni Naidu, head of physics and radiotherapy, said, "Efficiency and accuracy are two key aspects of modern radiotherapy and a completely integrated Varian solution offers us the ability to deliver both. We are looking forward to implementing these advanced technologies for quality patient care."

Queen's Hospital, which has been constructed under a PFI (private finance initiative), replaces two older facilities in the Romford area – Oldchurch Hospital and Harold Wood Hospital. Although the overall project is a PFI, funding for the radiotherapy department was split between the PFI and government backing via the Department of Health's Cancer Plan investment.

The four linear accelerators and a GE scanner were purchased within the UK government's Cancer Plan, which saw 115 new accelerators acquired for UK radiotherapy departments over a three year period, two-thirds of them Varian accelerators. Other radiotherapy equipment such as Varian's Acuity simulator and ARIA™ information management system - including ARIA for Medical Oncology for chemotherapy prescribing - were purchased within the terms of the PFI.

The new machines have the latest amorphous silicon imaging systems, respiratory gating and 120-leaf MLCs (multileaf collimators) which enable precise beam-shaping. Clinicians at Queen's Hospital intend to begin treating with intensity modulated radiation therapy over the next year, enabling tighter conformation to the tumor and helping to spare healthy surrounding tissue from exposure.

Contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems | Tel: +44 (0)7786 526068 | e-mail: neil.madle@varian.com

ABOUT VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS
Varian Medical Systems, Inc., (NYSE:VAR) of Palo Alto, California is the world's leading manufacturer of medical products 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 detectors for imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 3,900 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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