Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) is introducing the world's first low-energy radiotherapy system with image-guidance and RapidArc treatment capabilities for international cancer clinics. Varian's UNIQUE(TM) radiotherapy system is expected to make advanced care more affordable and more widely available to cancer patients around the world.
"This package is truly a unique offering for international markets," says Dow Wilson, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. "We have added high-tech image-guidance and arc therapy tools to a low energy platform together with our treatment planning and information management software so that technology for fast, state-of-the-art cancer treatments can be made available to treatment centers at a cost under $2 million. It's in keeping with our mission to save more lives by making proven advanced radiotherapy technology available to people who currently do not have access to it."
The UNIQUE Performance Edition incorporates all the tools needed to easily establish or enhance a clinically effective radiotherapy treatment operation. The UNIQUE* platform's low energy medical linear accelerator incorporates Varian's proven technologies for reliable and consistent dose control, delivery, and beam shaping, into an elegant machine with patient friendly design that is small enough to fit into almost all existing treatment bunkers. The system is ideally equipped for treating cancers of the head and neck, breast, cervix and prostate, which make up the majority of cases in most areas of the world. It will be exhibited for the first time at the 10th Biennial ESTRO Conference on Physics and Radiation Technology taking place here this week.
"It's a comprehensive, cost-effective offering that will provide cancer patients with standard treatments as well as advanced techniques, including intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), and RapidArc(R) treatments," said Rolf Staehelin, Varian's European marketing director. "By making UNIQUE available with advanced capabilities developed for our high-energy platforms, we hope to help more clinicians around the world to offer higher standards of care for all of their patients."
Varian will also offer a UNIQUE Power Edition without RapidArc technology or image-guidance software, for centers that prefer to begin with a more basic yet upgradeable platform.