Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today announced that the company's TrueBeam system for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery has received a 2011 R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine. This annual award salutes the 100 most technologically significant products of the prior year, spanning many categories, from biomedical products to consumer items.
"We're honored that the judges have chosen to recognize the TrueBeam system for this prestigious award," said Timothy Guertin, president and CEO of Varian Medical Systems. "We took everything clinicians told us they wanted to enable advances in cancer treatment, and challenged ourselves to engineer a completely new treatment platform. TrueBeam is the culmination of those efforts."
A TrueBeam system incorporates a multitude of technical innovations in order to dynamically synchronize imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery. It also offers clinicians a dose delivery rate that is roughly twice the maximum output of conventional radiotherapy systems. This makes it possible to offer shorter treatment times for patients, potentially enabling clinics to treat more patients each day and to improve precision by leaving less time for tumor motion during dose delivery.
"At Varian, our mission is to help doctors save another 100,000 lives each year," Guertin said. "Our hope is that TrueBeam will not only make it possible for more patients to receive treatment, but the speed and precision of the system will make it possible to treat tumors that would not have been treatable using earlier generations of technology."