Belgium provider begins using Varian radiotherapy technology
Ghent University Hospital in Ghent, Belgium, has completed its first radiotherapy treatment using RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems.
According to the Palo Alto, Calif.- based company, a 56-year old male rectal carcinoma patient was treated in 75 seconds, over four times faster than using conventional fixed-beam treatments. "This treatment would have taken more than five minutes using conventional intensity-modulated radiotherapy and such time-savings are very important both for the wellbeing of the patient and the efficiency of the hospital," said Professor Marc van Eijkeren, head of Ghent University Hospital's Department of Radiation Oncology. "We were able to achieve an increase in dose to the tumor while using far fewer monitor units of radiation to achieve this. Indeed, there was threefold reduction in monitor units used, which is helpful in tissue sparing and increasing patient comfort."
The Ghent physicans plan to begin utilizing RapidArc for other cancers in the pelvic region, said Varian.
According to the Palo Alto, Calif.- based company, a 56-year old male rectal carcinoma patient was treated in 75 seconds, over four times faster than using conventional fixed-beam treatments. "This treatment would have taken more than five minutes using conventional intensity-modulated radiotherapy and such time-savings are very important both for the wellbeing of the patient and the efficiency of the hospital," said Professor Marc van Eijkeren, head of Ghent University Hospital's Department of Radiation Oncology. "We were able to achieve an increase in dose to the tumor while using far fewer monitor units of radiation to achieve this. Indeed, there was threefold reduction in monitor units used, which is helpful in tissue sparing and increasing patient comfort."
The Ghent physicans plan to begin utilizing RapidArc for other cancers in the pelvic region, said Varian.