Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital to Deliver First TrueBeam STx Radiosurgery Treatments in Singapore

SINGAPORE, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital will soon become the first treatment center in Singapore to treat cancer using the TrueBeam™ STx system for radiotherapy and radiosurgery from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR).  At a Grand Opening event last Friday, clinicians introduced the new system, which enables advanced forms of treatment including radiosurgery, a precise method of using carefully shaped high-energy radiation beams to attack a tumor from outside the body, without performing surgery. 

"We are scheduled to deliver our first patient treatment this week," said Dr. Lee Kuo Ann, MBBS, FRCR, FAMS, consultant radiation oncologist at Mount Elizabeth Novena.  "The TrueBeam system will enable us to deliver large doses to tumors with great precision.  We'll be able to treat many inoperable brain tumors, tumors that are close to the spinal cord, and tumors of the lung, liver, or pancreas, which are subject to respiratory motion during treatment.  The system includes gating technology that can enhance precision by compensating for that kind of tumor motion."

About the TrueBeam STx System
The TrueBeam STx system was designed to treat tumors with tremendous accuracy and speed. The system incorporates numerous technical innovations that dynamically synchronize advanced imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery during a radiotherapy or radiosurgery procedure in order to target tumors precisely. TrueBeam STx has been designed to advance the treatment of lung, breast, intracranial, prostate, head and neck, and other types of cancer.

With its High Intensity Mode, TrueBeam STx can accurately deliver high doses more than twice as fast as earlier generations of technology. It incorporates a unique high-resolution beam shaping device that shapes the treatment beam so that it matches the three-dimensional shape of the targeted tumor, minimizing the impact on surrounding healthy tissues.

"With gating, the High Intensity Mode, and imaging technologies, we will be able to minimize the impact of treatment on healthy tissues," said Dr. Lee.  "For example, during breast cancer treatments we can reduce the radiation going to the heart and lungs."

"Varian's mission is to help save millions of lives around the world every year.  We are pleased and honored that the outstanding clinical team at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital will be working to save lives using Varian's advanced technology for treating cancer," said Jean-Luc Devleeschauwer, president for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for Varian's Oncology Systems business. 

Note to editors: High resolution images of Varian's TrueBeam system for image-guided radiotherapy are available online at this URL: http://varian.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=31899&cat=2470&mode=gallery.

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, 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 high-energy X-ray devices for cargo screening and non-destructive testing applications. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 5,900 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and approximately 70 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com or follow us on Twitter.

ABOUT MOUNT ELIZABETH NOVENA HOSPITAL
Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, Parkway Pantai Group's new hospital in the heart of Singapore's premier medical hub in Novena, opened in July 2012.  The modern all single-bedded room hospital sets new benchmarks for quality healthcare to reinforce Singapore's reputation for delivering world-class medical services to both local and foreign patients.  Adopting global best-practice standards for quality patient care as well as clinical outcomes, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital caters to the continuing demand for high quality and competitively priced healthcare services in Singapore and around the world. For more information, please visit the website at http://mountelizabethnovena.com.

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems

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