Top Indian Cancer Hospital to Introduce Advanced Radiosurgery Treatments With Novalis Tx from Varian Medical Systems and BrainLAB
MUMBAI, India, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- One of India's leading cancer
hospitals will expand its program of advanced whole-body radiosurgery with the
acquisition of a Varian/BrainLAB Novalis Tx(TM) radiosurgery platform. Tata
Memorial Hospital in Mumbai is currently constructing a new facility to house
the new device and plans to begin treatments in March next year.
The hospital, which currently delivers radiotherapy using three Varian
Clinac(R) linear accelerators and four telecobalt devices, has been carrying
out stereotactic radiotherapy on Clinac accelerators since 2000, mainly for
brain tumor patients. The acquisition of the new Novalis Tx platform, which
was ordered in March, will enable clinicians at Tata to expand this program by
routinely delivering state-of-the-art stereotactic radiosurgery to combat both
cranial and extra-cranial tumors.
"The new machine will enable us to offer the most modern and advanced
radiotherapy and radiosurgery treatments to fight cancer," says Professor S.K.
Shrivastava, head of Tata Memorial's Department of Radiation Oncology. "It
means our patients will receive very advanced treatments and we can carry out
both straightforward and complex cases on the same device, which improves
access and efficiency."
Professor Shrivastava added, "We decided to acquire the Novalis Tx because
this equipment is a technological marvel and an excellent combination of two
leading suppliers of stereotactic radiosurgery technology. We have a history
of introducing advanced radiotherapy treatments such as 3D-CRT and
intensity-modulated radiotherapy and this move is another step in ensuring our
patients receive highly accurate and effective treatments."
Varian and BrainLAB joined forces late last year to introduce the Novalis
Tx and Tata Memorial is the first hospital in India to order this advanced
solution. Tata Memorial treats over 16,000 new cancer patients each year,
with head & neck, breast and cervical cancers the most common. More than 60
percent of the hospital's patients require radiotherapy during their course of
treatment. India has a population of over a billion people and there are an
estimated one million new cases of cancer diagnosed in India each year.
Novalis Tx offers radiosurgery for malignant and benign lesions throughout
the body, arteriovascular malformations, and functional lesions. It features
very high dose delivery rates, which means that treatments can be delivered
very rapidly. Novalis Tx also offers dynamic ultra-fine beam shaping and
frameless patient positioning for more rapid and comfortable treatments. The
platform also includes an On-Board Imager(R) device for pinpointing the tumor
and positioning the patient with sub-millimeter precision.
Novalis Tx allows multiple beam energies of up to 18 million volts for
treating deep-seated tumors. "The speed coupled with the precise beam shaping
and advanced imaging capabilities make advanced radiosurgical treatments with
the Novalis Tx more affordable for hospitals and their patients," adds Dow
Wilson, head of Varian's Oncology Systems business.
Varian editorial contact: Neil Madle +44 7786 526068
BrainLAB editorial contact: Eva Schuster +49 89 991568 312
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 4,800 people who are located at
manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 60 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 more than 3,300 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 1,000 people in 16 offices across Europe, Asia, Australia, North and
South America.
