Denmark's Odense University Hospital Orders Elekta's New Versa HD Linear Accelerator for Radiotherapy Treatment of Patients with Cancer

STOCKHOLM and ODENSE, Denmark, March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Odense University Hospital (OUH, Odense) recently signed an order to acquire two Versa HD™ radiation therapy treatment systems. On March 1, Elekta announced the global launch of Versa HD, an advanced linear accelerator designed to improve patient care and treat a broader range of cancers, and featuring ultra-conformal beam shaping and tumor targeting.

Versa HD promises the versatility to enable clinicians to deliver conventional therapies to a wide range of tumors throughout the body, while also permitting treatment of very complex cancers that require extreme targeting accuracy. Versa HD also unveils new capabilities designed to maximize health care system resources and deliver highly sophisticated therapies without compromising treatment times.

"In the process of replacing two existing linear accelerators, we began evaluating the systems of different vendors. Our focus was to acquire high-end linear accelerators with fast and efficient dose delivery mainly for stereotactic treatments, but also head-and-neck and lung cases," says Knud Aage Werenberg, head physicist at OUH. "We found that Elekta's Versa HD – with its highly conformal beam shaping technology and High Dose Rate mode – would fulfill these requirements."

The high doses employed in the treatment of typically very small targets in stereotactic radiation therapy demand a system that combines high precision with rapid beam delivery, he adds.

"Versa HD is equipped with Elekta's Agility™ MLC, which has 160 high-speed leaves for conforming closely to tumor margins and a flattening filter-free beam generation for High Dose Rate mode," Werenberg says. "Stereotactic treatments, especially, will benefit from the system's high dose rate capabilities, which will reduce beam delivery time. Reduced beam-on time will result in less intrafractional organ movement, meaning more dose to the target and less to surrounding tissues – in addition to a much shorter treatment time. For example, a stereotactic case that used to take 12 minutes might now take just five minutes with Versa HD. This will also benefit the department by increasing the number of patients we can treat per day."

Advanced technology for common and complex cases

Versa HD incorporates technologies designed to provide an immediate impact to patient health and quality of life. Integrated with Elekta's revolutionary Agility MLC, Versa HD provides highly conformal beam shaping – a critical requirement for maximizing the dose to the target while also preserving surrounding healthy tissues. Significantly, this high targeting accuracy is available over a large field-of-view, permitting delivery of high-definition (HD) beams to a broad spectrum of complex targets. Historically, high-definition beam shaping often was mechanically limited to only small target therapies. Versa HD with Agility overcomes this challenge, empowering clinicians to deliver extremely precise beam contouring for both small and large targets.

Unprecedented combination of high dose rate delivery and rapid MLC leaf speed

Capable of delivering radiation doses three times faster than previous generation Elekta linear accelerators, Versa HD harnesses the ultra-fast leaf speeds of Agility MLC. With this groundbreaking combination, clinicians can now – for the first time – fully exploit high dose rate delivery, potentially enabling even greater capabilities for sophisticated therapies, including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT).

For more information, visit www.VersaHD.com.

Versa HD is not available for sale or distribution in all markets. Elements of Versa HD are pending FDA 510(k) clearance.

For further information, please contact:
Johan Andersson Melbi, Director, Investor Relations, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 702 100 451, email: [email protected]
Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Michelle Joiner, Director, Global Public Relations and Brand Management, Elekta
Tel: +1 770-670-2447, email: [email protected]
Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

About Elekta
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,400 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. Website: www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta