Researchers Show that the Edge™ Radiosurgery System from Varian Medical Systems Can Target Cancer with Sub-millimeter Accuracy

AUSTIN, Texas, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical researchers have confirmed that the Edge™ radiosurgery system from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) can deliver dose to a targeted tumor with sub-millimeter isocenter accuracy.  The researchers, from the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal and other teams from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI, will be making seven scientific presentations about the Edge system during the 2014 American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) meeting taking place here from July 20 – 24. 

The Champalimaud team worked with scientists from Varian to conduct "end-to-end" testing of the Edge system, to demonstrate that its diverse subsystems can work together to yield sub-millimeter accuracy when delivering dose.

"The Edge system is made up of many advanced subsystems for patient positioning, image guidance, beam shaping, real-time tumor tracking, and dose delivery," said Calvin Huntzinger, M.S., senior director of surgical sciences at Varian.  "While each of these systems is very precise by itself, it was important to demonstrate that the system as a whole can be accurate to less than a millimeter, because that's what's desirable when delivering high doses to tumors near critical organs and structures within the body."

Investigators from the Henry Ford Health System will be delivering six presentations about their early work with the Edge™ radiosurgery system, covering a wide spectrum of clinical issues, from the accuracy of patient set-up for image-guided intracranial (brain) radiosurgery to methods for accurately commissioning a new Edge system.  One of the Henry Ford teams will present preliminary data on the accuracy of dose calculations for treating small, elongated tumors with radiosurgery. 

"Champalimaud and the Henry Ford Health System were the first institutions in the world to install Edge systems," said Huntzinger. "Whenever you have a new technology, there are tremendous opportunities for the early adopters to put it through its paces and really show what it can do.  These teams are demonstrating the capabilities of the system, and figuring out and documenting best practices that others will be able to follow."

The EDGE radiosurgery suite combines Varian's world-class technologies in an end-to-end solution for planning and delivering radiosurgery treatments.  It integrates Varian's most advanced medical linear accelerator—a machine that produces the high energy X-ray beams used to treat disease—with tools for real-time imaging, tumor tracking, motion management, and patient positioning.  The Edge enables fast, accurate delivery of stereotactic radiosurgery for treating lesions, tumors, and conditions anywhere in the body where radiotherapy is indicated, including tumors of the lung, prostate, spine and brain.

Important Safety Information
Radiation treatments may cause side effects that can vary depending on the part of the body being treated. The most frequent ones are typically temporary and may include, but are not limited to, irritation to the respiratory, digestive, urinary or reproductive systems, fatigue, nausea, skin irritation, and hair loss. In some patients, they can be severe. Treatment sessions may vary in complexity and time. Radiation treatment is not appropriate for all cancers.

Varian's devices, including the Edge radiosurgery system, have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating lesions, tumors, and conditions anywhere in the body when radiation treatment is indicated. 

High resolution images of the Edge radiosurgery system can be accessed at this URL: http://newsroom.varian.com/Edge.

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, digital detectors, and image processing software and workstations 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 6,500 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.

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SOURCE Varian Medical Systems