ELEKTA CHOSEN BY FIVE UK HOSPITALS IN NHS INVESTMENT WAVE

As a part of the country’s national cancer program, United Kingdom is currently investing in increased capacity for radiation treatment of cancer. These investments are sponsored by the Department of Health, providing the funding, which is applied for by the NHS Hospitals and released in so-called ‘waves’. Recently, the awarded tenders in the ninth of these waves were announced. Winning all competitive tenders entered, Elekta will deliver six advanced digital linear accelerators for radiation therapy to five UK hospitals. In total, these orders are valued at over GBP 6 million and were order booked by Elekta in April.All five hospitals opting for Elekta Synergy®Elekta was chosen following a competitive and in-depth selection process facilitated by the NHS Trust and the orders from Guy's Hospital in London, New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, Poole General Hospital and Southampton General, confirms Elekta’s market-leading position in the UK. All five of the hospitals will be receiving Elekta Synergy®, fully equipped with precision IMRT, real time portal imaging and the most clinically advanced 3D X-ray Volume Imaging for image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). “At Elekta, we are proud to be a partner to UK health care in the quest to improve quality and capacity in cancer care”, says David Miles, Managing Director for Elekta’s Business Unit UK & Ireland, and continues; “It is particularly pleasing that all hospitals opted for our solution for advanced, three-dimensional IGRT, a cost-effective technology that is set to greatly enhance accuracy and precision in radiation therapy and thereby improve quality of care for British cancer patients.” Information management systems from IMPACIn addition to choosing Elekta’s clinical solutions, three of the hospitals have also chosen to install information management systems from IMPAC Medical Systems, an Elekta company. These image guided treatment management (IGTM™) systems will connect treatment planning systems, imaging systems and the radiation therapy delivery equipment – regardless of manufacturer – in order to reduce cost, smooth the patient flow and provide seamless connectivity to the systems and devices that are integral to the full spectrum of cancer care.“The result of this ‘wave’ is yet another proof of Elekta’s strength in Europe, a market that has now clearly regained momentum”, says Olof Sandén, Regional Vice President and head of Elekta’s Sales and Marketing in Europe. “The fact that all hospitals chose Elekta Synergy, shows the increased acceptance of 3D IGRT solutions. Only with the full 3D imaging capability will clinicians get the full advantage of IGRT and Elekta has clearly set the standard for this exciting development”, Olof Sandén concludes.********