Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: VAR), the world's leading manufacturer of medical technology for treating cancer with radiotherapy, announced today it has received Shonin approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) to market the TrueBeam™ system for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery in Japan. Designed for the treatment of lung, breast, prostate, head and neck, and other types of cancer, Varian's TrueBeam system was engineered from the ground up to treat tumors with great speed and accuracy — including tumors that move during treatment as the patient breathes in and out.
TrueBeam features a multitude of technical innovations that dynamically synchronize imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery. Applicable for all forms of advanced external-beam radiotherapy including image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and RapidArc® radiotherapy, TrueBeam can deliver treatments with a dose delivery rate that is roughly twice the maximum output of conventional 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.
"Intelligent" automation further speeds treatments and makes the technology easier for clinicians to use, with an up to five-fold reduction in the number of steps needed for imaging, positioning and treating patients. A standard intensity-modulated treatment that would typically take ten minutes can be completed in less than two minutes.
More than 220 TrueBeam systems have now been ordered by treatment centers around the world, and more than 65 installations are completed or in process.
Varian also offers the Trilogy® and Clinac® systems for image-guided radiotherapy, which have been approved for sale in Japan since 1995. There are now over 360 Varian treatment machines operating at cancer treatment centers across Japan.
"TrueBeam is Varian's most advanced cancer treatment system. It combines high dose delivery rates, image-guidance, RapidArc, and motion management capabilities, making it particularly well-suited for treating cancer of the lung and liver, two of the five most prevalent forms of cancer in Japan," said Makoto Yamada, sales manager for Varian in Japan. "We are pleased to be able to add the new TrueBeam system to the full line of cancer treatment technologies Varian can offer to our clinical partners in Japan."
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