First Latvian patients treated with Varian's RapidArc radiotherapy system
21 October 2009
Doctors in Latvia have begun treatments using the region’s first Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) and BrainLAB.
Two prostate cancer patients have been treated using Varian’s RapidArc radiotherapy technology at the Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital.
The Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform together with RapidArc technology enabled the clinicians to treat prostates with image-guided, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in about half the time typically needed for conventional IMRT.
“Our new radiosurgical instrument enabled us to spare surrounding healthy organs while precisely targeting the tumour with a high dose,” said Dr. Sergey Popov, head of the hospital’s radiotherapy department.
Dr. Popov said the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform is the Baltic region’s first machine for frameless intra-cranial stereotactic radiosurgery of brain lesions and he announced that cranial treatments would begin this month. Latvia’s minister of health Prof. Baiba Rozentale is celebratied the arrival of the machine and the new treatment capability at a public ceremony on 14 October.
“The whole region has been waiting for this landmark as this machine represents the first ever stereotactic radiosurgery capability in any of the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia,” added Dr. Popov.
“We chose the Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform because it gives us great clinical flexibility, enabling us to deliver RapidArc, IMRT, conformal treatments, and our first stereotactic radiosurgery techniques. In the past, patients have had to travel overseas for such treatments, mostly to Germany, but they will now receive state-of-the-art treatments here in Latvia.”
The Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform features very high dose delivery rates, which contributes to shorter treatment times. It also offers dynamic fine beam shaping using the unique HD120 high definition multi-leaf collimator (MLC) and non-invasive, precise patient positioning for rapid and more comfortable treatments. Specialized X-ray imaging systems are used to pinpoint the target and position the patient with millimeter accuracy, compensating for any motion that occurs during a treatment.
The Novalis Tx radiosurgery platform at Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital will be used equally by radiation oncologists and neurosurgeons to deliver a wide range of advanced intra-cranial and extra-cranial treatments.