CANCER PATIENTS IN SWEDEN AND ESTONIA RECEIVE FASTER, MORE PRECISE RADIATION THERAPY TREATMENTS
Stockholm, Sweden January 27, 2009
Uppsala University Hospital and Lund University Hospital in Sweden and Tartu University Hospital in Estonia invest in advanced radiotherapy systems from Elekta, a world leader in radiation therapy and radiosurgery treatment solutions.
Installation of the new Elekta Synergy® systems from Elekta will enable the three university hospitals to begin treating patients with Elekta VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy), a new treatment technology that offers shortened treatment times with the highest degree of precision.
With Elekta Synergy, hospitals in Uppsala and Tartu will for the first time offer patients Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), which enables hospital personnel to visualize the tumor at the time of treatment, while the hospital in Lund will extend its capacity for this type of targeted treatment.
The order from Tartu University Hospital will be the first Elekta linear accelerator in Estonia. Due to significant demand in the region, installation of the new equipment will commence immediately. The hospital also has the radiation treatment planning system, XiO®, from CMS Software. CMS became part of the Elekta Group in 2008.
“Three leading university hospitals ordering Elekta systems for cancer treatment in just over a month reflects very positively on our VMAT technology,” says Lennart Ward, Elekta’s Business Unit Manager for the Nordic and Baltic countries. “Elekta VMAT is unique in allowing the clinician to optimize all parameters of treatment delivery in order to maximize dose to the tumor and minimize unwanted radiation to healthy tissue.”
“We aim to be at the forefront and implement modern radiation treatment methods,” says Kristina Nilsson, senior physician and responsible for the Department of Oncology, Radiology and Clinical Immunology at Uppsala University Hospital. “We look forward to having access to Elekta’s system for Image Guided Radiation Therapy and rotational IMRT, that is, VMAT. This will enable us to provide enhanced patient care.”
Uppsala University Hospital will begin treating patients with Elekta VMAT during autumn 2009. Lund University Hospital is planning to install the system in 2010.
For additional information about Elekta VMAT, visit www.elekta.com/vmat.