Pioneering Brain Malformation Treatment Performed Using Novalis Tx™ Radiosurgery Technology in India | Varian

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Pioneering Brain Malformation Treatment Performed Using Novalis Tx™ Radiosurgery Technology in India

MUMBAI, India, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A 17-year-old female with a complex arteriovenous malformation of the brain has become the first person in India to be treated using the fast Novalis Tx™ radiosurgery platform from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) and BrainLAB. Doctors at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai performed the pioneering stereotactic radiosurgery treatment in a single session that took just a few minutes to complete.

"The patient's malformation, which was near the motor cortex on the right side of the brain, had been partially embolized and it was considered that no further treatment was possible," says Dr. Ram K. Narain, the hospital's chief operating officer. "Following Novalis Tx radiosurgery treatment the patient's symptoms had alleviated considerably. She will now have an MRI scan every six months to monitor her progress. The medical team was very happy with her treatment."

Arteriovenous malformations are abnormal connections between veins and arteries and are normally congenital and frequently inoperable. Bleeding from an arteriovenous malformation can be devastating, particularly in the brain, where it can cause severe and often fatal strokes.

Dr. Narain said that Kokilaben Hospital was proud to be the first in India to introduce the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform clinically. "Image-guided, frameless and non-invasive radiosurgery is very much today's innovation and tomorrow's radiosurgery technique of choice," he said. "It offers a more patient-friendly alternative to conventional radiosurgery systems that require immobilization with a head ring that attaches to the skull."

"With this system, we can deliver a highly conformal and homogenous dose to irregularly shaped lesions in a single session, which was not achievable with conventional radiosurgery techniques. These faster treatments can be completed in minutes rather than the hours taken by conventional techniques and they can be carried out on lesions anywhere in the body, not just in the brain."

According to Dr. Narain, the team at Kokilaben Hospital will use the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform to perform radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy for a number of indications, including lung, brain, liver, and prostate metastases, recurrent brain tumors, pituitary adenomas, acoustic neuromas and meningiomas. "In particular it will help us to manage complex skull-base tumors and arteriovenous malformations with multimodality treatments, including stereotactic radiosurgery."

The Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform features very high dose delivery rates, which contributes to shorter treatment times. It also offers dynamic fine beam shaping and non-invasive, precise patient positioning for rapid and more comfortable treatments. Integrated imaging capabilities pinpoint the target before and during treatment and enable positioning of the patient with millimeter precision.

Kokilaben Hospital is a private center that treats approximately 3,000 new cancer patients each year from across India. Waiting lists are a major problem for cancer patients in India and the speed and flexibility of the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform will enable Kokilaben Hospital to treat more patients. The hospital's parent group, Reliance, plans to invest further in new technology as well as establishing satellite specialty clinics.

Vivekanand Tathavadkar, Varian's India country manager, said, "Reliance is investing to ensure India's cancer patients can benefit from the most advanced radiotherapy and radiosurgery technology anywhere in the world. Novalis Tx enables such treatments to be delivered quickly, effectively and with an emphasis on patient comfort."

Ten Novalis Tx platforms have been ordered by Indian cancer centers in the two years since its introduction, making them among the most enthusiastic adopters of Novalis Tx technology to date. More information on the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform can be found at www.radiosurgeryindia.com

Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068

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/

About BrainLAB

BrainLAB develops, manufactures and markets software-driven medical technology that enables procedures that are more precise, less invasive, and also less expensive than traditional treatments. Among the core products are image-guided systems that provide highly accurate real-time information used for navigation during surgical procedures. This utility has been further expanded to serve as a computer terminal for physicians to more effectively access and interpret diagnostic scans and other digital medical information for better informed decisions. BrainLAB solutions allow expansion from a single system to operating suites to digitally integrated hospitals covering all subspecialties from neurosurgery, orthopedics, ENT, CMF to spine & trauma and oncology. With 3300 systems installed in over 75 countries, BrainLAB is a market leader in image-guided technology. The privately held BrainLAB group, founded in 1989, is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and today employs 950 people in 16 offices across Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South America. For more information, visit www.brainlab.com.

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

SOURCE: Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

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