PALO ALTO, Calif., June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- On Monday, June 4, Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer, received top honors -- a 2007 21st Century Achievement Award -- in the 2007 Computerworld Honors Program, which recognizes individuals and organizations that use information technology to benefit society. At the 19th Annual Laureates Medal Ceremony & Gala Awards Evening held last night at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Varian was first honored as one of 50 finalists whose case studies were selected by program judges to be outstanding innovations within the information technology field. Varian then went on to receive the coveted 21st Century Achievement Award, becoming one of ten organizations selected by the program judges as first among their peers.
"We are deeply honored to be recognized by Computerworld," said Dow Wilson, president of Varian's Oncology Systems business. "We often say that Varian Medical Systems focuses energy on saving lives, and we have been building radiation oncology treatment machines for nearly 50 years. However, we have been able to make revolutionary advances in cancer treatment as a result of developing expertise in information technology. Being chosen to receive a 2007 Computerworld 21st Century Achievement Award is a huge affirmation of our efforts in this area."
Varian was honored for its technology for planning and delivering an advanced form of radiation therapy called SmartBeam™ IMRT (intensity- modulated radiation therapy), which has improved the success and safety of radiation oncology and expanded its use to the treatment of tumors that might have been difficult or impossible to treat. IMRT enables doctors to eradicate cancerous tumors more effectively with minimal side effects. It is used to treat many forms of cancer, including tumors of the brain, breast, gynecological organs, head and neck, lung, and prostate. Varian's software helps treatment centers manage and use the mountains of data and images required for delivering these sophisticated treatments.
Varian was nominated for this honor by Borland Software Corporation, a company that provides Varian with software that automates some of the crucial quality testing processes that Varian's software must undergo before it can be released to customers. Borland has helped Varian ensure that each new version of its ARIA™ Oncology Information System meets the highest quality standards.
The Computerworld Honors Program is dedicated to a singular and ongoing mission: "A Search for New Heroes." This search annually identifies and records the accomplishments of the men and women, organizations and institutions that are creating the global best practices in leading the world's ongoing IT revolution. Each year, members of the Chairmen's Committee, a group of 100 Chairman/CEOs of global technology companies, nominate individuals and organizations whose visionary applications of information technology promote positive social and economic progress. For almost two decades, Computerworld Honors has acknowledged those individuals and organizations that have used information technology to benefit society.
"Each Laureate selected for this honor understands the importance of using one's resources and technical prowess to benefit one's fellow man," said Bob Carrigan, Chairman of the Computerworld Honors Program Chairmen's Committee and President, IDG Communications.
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 4,200 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 56 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com/
About Computerworld
Computerworld is the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide. Computerworld's award-winning weekly publication, Computerworld.com Web site (http://www.computerworld.com/), focused conference series and custom research form the hub of the world's largest (40+ edition) global IT media network. In the past five years alone, Computerworld has won more than 100 awards, including Folio Magazine's 2006 Gold EDDIE Award for the best technology/computing magazine, the 2004 and 2006 Magazine of the Year Award, and 2006 Best Overall Web Publication from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). Computerworld leads the industry with a print audience of 1,252,000 readers each week (IntelliQuest CIMS Spring 2006) and an online audience of over 2 million unique monthly visitors (Omniture).
Computerworld is a business unit of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading technology media, research and events company. A privately held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers, including CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites, with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide, including Storage Networking World®, Premier 100®, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo®, Macworld Conference & Expo, DEMO® and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com/.
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Meryl Ginsberg, 650-424-6444 meryl.ginsberg@varian.com
SOURCE: Varian Medical Systems
CONTACT: Meryl Ginsberg, +1-650-424-6444, meryl.ginsberg@varian.com, of
Varian Medical Systems