Download Beijing Cancer Hospital Introduces Fast and Precise RapidArc

[ Industry Watch ]
CHINA
Beijing Cancer Hospital Introduces
Fast and Precise RapidArc
Radiotherapy Cancer Treatments
C
ancer patients in mainland China are gaining access to fast
and efficient radiotherapy treatments with the introduction of
RapidArc® radiotherapy technology from Varian Medical Systems
at the Beijing Cancer Hospital(BCH). BCH is the first hospital in mainland
China to introduce the revolutionary technique, which offers more advanced
care to a greater number of patients.
“The speed and precision of RapidArc makes it perfect for the heavy patient
throughput that we see in China,” says Dr. Guangying Zhu, professor of
radiation oncology at BCH. “We will be able to treat more patients with the
new RapidArc-equipped accelerator, which should certainly help to improve
the regional control rate and offer significant benefits to patients.” Doctors at
the hospital intend to use RapidArc primarily for precise treatments of lung
cancer, esophagus cancer, rectal cancer and head & neck cancer.
RapidArc delivers a precise and efficient 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. Faster treatments allow for greater precision, since there
is less chance of patient or tumor movement during treatment delivery
and, with less time on the treatment couch, also allow for greater patient
comfort.
Beijing Cancer Hospital has treated more than 5,000 patients with
conventional IMRT in recent years, gaining a global reputation for the
quality of its treatments and the scientific papers published on its research.
“Most IMRT treatments take between 15 and 30 minutes to deliver,” adds
Dr. Zhu. “With RapidArc we will be able to offer equivalent and even
superior treatments in just two to three minutes. The high-performance OnBoard Imager® is an excellent targeting tool and the reliability of Varian’s
linear accelerators brings us a great deal of confidence for a high up-time
system.”
Beijing Cancer Hospital’s department of radiation oncology treats more
than 2,000 new cancer patients each year from across China, as well as from
neighboring countries such as Vietnam.
According to Dr. Zhu, RapidArc will be particularly helpful in to cutting
the growing waiting lists at the hospital, with cancer rates rising significantly
year-on-year. “There is a huge difference in the linear accelerator installed
base between different areas of China. From a technology and expertise
32 ■ Volume 13 > Number 8 > 2009
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[ Industry Watch ]
CHINA
standpoint, large hospitals in China
have advanced equipment and clinical
expertise that is no different from that
in more developed countries. We just
have nowhere near enough capacity
to meet our needs,” he says. There are
12 machines per million people in the
US and only 0.7 machines per million
people in China.
“RapidArc will help this busy
public cancer center to treat more
patients with advanced radiotherapy
techniques,” says Tom Duffy, Varian’s
marketing director in China. “When
implemented, RapidArc can enable
hospitals to treat over 30% more
patients on a linear accelerator each
day.”
Dr. Jinming Yu, chairman of the China
Society for Therapeutic Radiation and
Oncology (CSTRO), said, “RapidArc
is the leading radiation therapy
technique, especially for fast and
precisely targeted treatments. I believe
that this high-tech machine will
provide excellent benefits for cancer
patients in China.”
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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, proton therapy, 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 and
digital detectors for X-ray imaging
in medical, scientific, and industrial
applications and also supplies Xray imaging products for cargo
screening and industrial inspection.
Varian Medical Systems employs
approximately 5,100 people who
are located at manufacturing sites in
North America, China, and Europe
and in its 79 sales and support
offices around the world. For more
information, visit http://www.
varian.com/ g
Contact Details:
Varian Medical Systems
Address: 3100 Hansen Way
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1038
India
Tel:
+650 424 5834
URL:
www.varian.com
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