SYDNEY, Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Elekta's
(EKTA-B.ST) Versa HD™ system is making its clinical debut or
preparing to treat patients at three Australian centers. On
October 1, Macarthur Cancer Therapy
Centre at Campbelltown Hospital (Campbelltown, NSW) became the
first clinic in Australia to treat
patients on one of its two Versa HD systems. On November 10, Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre
followed suit with its first Versa HD patient treatments. Nelune
Comprehensive Cancer Centre at Prince of Wales Hospital (Randwick,
NSW) is making preparations to begin treating patients on its Versa
HD system. Versa HD is Elekta's latest generation linear
accelerator, equipped with advanced beam-shaping and high dose rate
technologies.
Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre
In the summer of 2014, the Macarthur Cancer Centre at
Campbelltown Hospital replaced its two aging Siemens linear
accelerators with Versa HD systems. The move was a huge
technological leap for the clinic, which previously had no cone
beam CT (CBCT) or VMAT capabilities.
"With Versa HD, all of our prostate cases now get daily CBCT
scans, enabling us to characterize the tumor and its position
during treatment much more accurately than we could before," says
Dion Forstner, MD, Director of
Radiation Oncology. "Also, our previous systems allowed only
simpler beam shaping. With the Agility™ multileaf collimator on
Versa HD, beam shaping is far superior and much faster. Treatment
time is substantially less using Versa HD, particularly for IMRT
cases. For example, on a head-and-neck IMRT case, we save about 10
minutes, so we can treat at least three patients in an hour,
whereas before we were struggling to treat two patients in that
time."
With improved imaging capabilities and High Dose Rate mode using
flattening filter-free (FFF) technology, unique to Versa HD,
Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre clinicians are ramping up a
stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) program.
"We will be using Versa HD for SBRT of lung, liver and
especially prostate cases, and we've treated our first SBRT case, a
patient with lung cancer," Dr. Forstner notes. "Implementing SBRT
also will now allow us to participate in multicenter SBRT
trials."
He adds that with both Versa HD systems up and running, the
cancer center will be able to increase its capacity by at least 30
percent or 12 additional patients per day. This is critical in a
region expected to experience a 48 percent growth in those aged
over 65 between 2012 and 2021.
Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre (ARC)
The new Versa HD system at ARC's St. Andrew's Hospital location
will enable clinicians to commission several advanced radiotherapy
techniques for a range of cancer conditions, according to ARC
radiation oncologist Marcus Dreosti, MD.
"Versa HD really changes how we can treat cancer in so many
ways," he says. "It will expand the range of cancers that can be
successfully managed with radiation and shorten treatment times,
which reduces the impact on patients' quality of life. We are able
to be so precise in targeting tumors that in certain clinical
applications we can deliver higher doses in fewer treatments and
achieve better outcomes with fewer complications."
Established in 1985, ARC is the largest provider of radiotherapy
services in South Australia with
centers in Adelaide City,
Bedford Park, Kurralta Park and
Elizabeth Vale.
Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre
Prince of Wales Hospital's Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre
(Sydney, NSW) recently replaced
two Siemens linear accelerators with an Elekta Infinity™ system and
a Versa HD system, which join an Elekta Axesse™ system the center
purchased in 2009. Elekta Infinity is now clinically operational,
and Versa HD will be commissioned by the New Year.
"With Versa HD, we're looking forward to shorter treatment
times, particularly for simpler treatments, such as prostate cases,
and better dose distributions for conventional IMRT cases and for
VMAT once we start using that technique," says Michael Jackson, MD, radiation oncology center
director.
Versa HD will be a welcome addition to Nelune's intra- and
extra-cranial SBRT program, he adds.
"We will use the system mainly for cancers in the brain, lung,
liver, pancreas and spine, in which the ultra-conformal beam
shaping capabilities of Versa HD are especially important."
For more information, visit www.VersaHD.com.
Versa HD is not for sale or distribution in all
markets.
For further information, please contact:
Gert van Santen, Group Vice President Corporate
Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +31 653 561 242, e-mail: gert.vansanten@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European Time
Kris Walmsley, Corporate
Communications Manager, Elekta
AB
Tel: +46 70 537 9545, e-mail: kris.walmsley@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European Time
About Elekta
Elekta is a human care company pioneering
significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer
and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated,
state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation
therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, as well as workflow
enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.
Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing
intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence
to both health care providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve,
prolong and even save patient lives.
Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in
over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,800
employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in
Stockholm, Sweden, and the company
is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm. Website: www.elekta.com.
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SOURCE Elekta
