STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems' advanced treatment planning and information management software has been selected as part of a major project to integrate all radiotherapy activities in Stockholm, including those of the world famous Karolinska University Hospital.
Varian's ARIA™ information and image management software and Eclipse™ treatment planning software will be installed over the next year in an effort to unify the Karolinska, South and Danderyd Hospitals, which recently merged under the title of Karolinska University Hospital.
Hundreds of cancer patients are treated daily on 12 linear accelerators and brachytherapy afterloaders at the three sites. Most of the hospital network's treatment machines are Varian Clinac® accelerators. The new Karolinska University Hospital currently deploys a variety of treatment planning, information management and verification software systems, all of which will be replaced by Varian's ARIA and Eclipse systems over the coming year.
Aris Tilikidis, chief physicist at Karolinska University Hospital, explains, "An integrated system improves treatment quality by eliminating possible errors due to data transfer between different systems, resulting in more accurate treatments. Radiation therapy treatments have increased in volume and complexity in recent years and it is extremely important to be able to integrate activities effectively."
He said a single software system to manage the three networked hospitals will enable patients to be transferred seamlessly from one hospital to another. Moreover, modern advanced radiotherapy treatments such as IMRT (intensity modulated radiotherapy) and IGRT (image guided radiotherapy) benefit greatly from the use of common methods and systems across a network of hospitals. ARIA is a comprehensive cancer solution that allows medical and radiation oncologists to track adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
Varian was chosen to fulfil this software integration project after a thorough tender process. "We analysed all of the different companies and visited recommended reference sites and it soon became obvious to us that only the Eclipse/ARIA system from Varian could offer the integration capabilities required by our hospitals," added Dr. Tilikidis.
Sten Hornsleth, Varian's Scandinavian regional manager, said, "We are delighted that this major project will be served entirely by Varian's IT network. This means that Varian is the only radiotherapy IT supplier to hospitals in Stockholm, just as we are already the only supplier to other Nordic capitals Helsinki and Copenhagen."
Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068, neil.madle@varian.com
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 4,400 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/.
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Statements in this press release regarding future business, events, plans, objectives, expectations, estimates, and other similar matters, including, but not limited to, statements using the terms "can" and "expect," constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the risks described in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements because of new information, future events, or otherwise.
SOURCE: Varian Medical Systems, Inc
CONTACT: Neil Madle of Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068,
neil.madle@varian.com
Web site: http://www.varian.com/