Two university hospitals in Germany and Switzerland have commenced treatments for complex cancers, including head and neck tumors, using RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems.

Gottingen University Hospital in Germany and Zurich University Hospital in Switzerland are amongst the earliest implementers of the image-guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), which potentially enables doctors to improve outcomes while extending modern care to more patients, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said.

RapidArc delivers treatment in single or multiple arcs of the treatment machine around the patient and makes it possible to deliver image-guided IMRT two to eight times faster than is possible with conventional IMRT, according to Varian.