The Nairobi Hospital in Kenya Commences Treating Cancer with Advanced Radiotherapy Delivery Using Varian Equipment and Software

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A modern medical linear accelerator has been installed at The Nairobi Hospital in Kenya to provide local cancer patients with advanced radiotherapy treatments for the first time. The hospital hopes to treat up to 50 patients a day on the newly-installed Clinac® DMX machine from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) of Palo Alto, California.

"There are very few cancer centers in the east and central African region so we are pleased to be able to offer precise and efficient treatments on our new system," says Dr. Cleopa Mailu, chief executive officer of The Nairobi Hospital. "We selected Varian equipment and software because we felt it was best suited for our needs as a modern cancer treatment center."

Patients at the private clinic will initially be treated using 3-D conformal radiotherapy and clinicians at the hospital intend to introduce more advanced treatments such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery in the near future. A 3-D conformal treatment involves shaping the treatment beam so that it matches the three dimensional shape of the tumor, to minimize exposure of surrounding healthy tissues.

The Varian Clinac DMX is equipped with an advanced beam shaping device to help match the dose distribution to the size, shape, and location of tumors. A second Varian Clinac accelerator is due to be installed imminently. The Nairobi Hospital has also acquired a full suite of Varian software and management tools including the ARIA® oncology information system, Eclipse™ treatment planning software and a 4-D integrated treatment console to enable them to deliver quality treatments quickly and care for more patients.

Vincent Ronfle, Varian's regional sales manager in Africa, says, "Equipping The Nairobi Hospital with modern linear accelerators and making advanced treatments available now gives a very positive signal to the country. There are some real strides being made in healthcare in this region."

Shirley Murray, from Varian's regional distributor Tecmed Africa, adds, "For me personally, this has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable of any project I've worked on. I fell in love with Kenya and its people's enthusiasm, professionalism and work ethic. The Nairobi Hospital's patient care is among the best I have ever seen and I feel privileged and proud to have been part of the team that helped make Dr. Mailu's dream a reality."

The Nairobi Hospital is a private facility in Kenya recognized throughout East Africa as an advanced diagnostic and treatment hospital. This 320 bed hospital contains surgical, medical, obstetric, pediatric and critical care wards.

Editorial contact: Neil Madle, Varian Medical Systems, +44 7786 526068

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 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 6,100 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 https://twitter.com/VarianMedSys

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems