Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Icon radiosurgery system receives Medical Device License from Health Canada
Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) today announced that Health Canada has issued a Medical Device License to Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife® Icon™ radiosurgery system. Canadian health care providers are now able to offer their patients the latest advance in Elekta’s industry-leading stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) system, the only SRS system designed specifically to target brain tissue.
Leksell Gamma Knife has been the leading radiosurgery platform for more than 45 years, offering proven accuracy in both the location and radiation dose delivered to targeted brain tissue. Icon is the sixth generation of the Leksell Gamma Knife system, resulting from Elekta’s extensive history in SRS technology and decades of collaboration with neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists around the world. Icon also provides the flexibility for single dose administration or multiple treatment sessions over time, which enables treatment of structures ranging from very small target sizes of a few millimeters to several centimeters, targets close to critical brain structures and new or recurring brain metastases.
“We are pleased to soon offer our patients the latest advance in SRS technology. The image guidance and frameless features of Gamma Knife Icon allow us to treat patients who were not candidates for SRS therapy with older technologies,” said Arjun Sahgal, M.D., Deputy Chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. “Through our experience participating in the pre-approval validation of this system, we had the opportunity to experience how real-time CT imaging enables sub-millimeter accuracy in targeting tumors. This degree of precision is especially critical when targeting lesions in the brain, where sparing healthy tissue is essential for reducing side effects and protecting normal brain function.”
Specific to Icon are the novel online Adaptive DoseControl™ and high-definition motion management technologies that ensure high accuracy for all treatments and an efficient workflow. Compared to other SRS platforms, Icon reduces delivery of radiation to normal brain tissue two to four times and lowers the extracranial dose by up to 130-fold.[i],[ii],[iii] Icon can be used in both frameless and fractionated treatment approaches, expanding physician options for patient-specific needs.
“Robust clinical evidence from more than one million procedures supports Gamma Knife as the most precise SRS platform in the world. Icon was designed with multiple technology upgrades that enable improved work flow and efficiencies,” said Bill Yaeger, Elekta's Executive Vice President, Region North America. “As part of our ongoing commitment to improving outcomes for patients and clinicians with treatable neurological conditions worldwide, we are pleased that Icon will now be available in Canada.”
For more information on how Gamma Knife Icon works, visit elekta.com/icon.
[i] Ma L, Nichol A, Hossain S, et al. Variable dose interplay effects across radiosurgical apparatus in treating multiple brain metastases. Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2014;9(6):1079-86.
[ii] Lindquist C, Paddick I. The Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion and comparisons with its predecessors. Neurosurgery. 2007;61(3 Suppl):130-40.
[iii] Vlachopoulou V, Antypas C, Delis H, et al. Peripheral doses in patients undergoing Cyberknife treatment for intracranial lesions. A single centre experience. Radiat Oncol. 2011;6:157.
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For further information, please contact:
Gert van Santen, Group Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +31 653 561 242, Email: gert.vansanten@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European Time
Raven Canzeri, Global Public Relations Manager
Tel: +1 770 670 2524, Email: raven.canzeri@elekta.com
Time zone: ET: Eastern Time
About Elekta
Elekta is proud to be the leading innovator of equipment and software used to improve, prolong and save the lives of people with cancer and brain disorders. Our advanced, effective solutions are created in collaboration with customers, and more than 6,000 hospitals worldwide rely on Elekta technology. Our treatment solutions and oncology informatics portfolios are designed to enhance the delivery of radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, and to drive cost efficiency in clinical workflows. Elekta employs 3,600 people around the world. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Elekta is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm. www.elekta.com