Varian Announces Global Clinical Council to Develop RapidArc(TM) Cancer ...(eloping cells and organs could prevent h...),Health

Dr. Ben Slotman of VU Medical Center in Amsterdam supports this, saying, "The benefits of fast RapidArc treatments are many. Faster treatment delivery has not only an economic benefit because more patients can be treated within the same time, but it has clinical benefits as well. The risk of movement of the patient during treatment is also smaller, and faster treatments are of course much more comfortable for the patients. It is also clear that when a dose distribution is more conformal to the tumor or enables better avoidance of critical structures, a higher dose can be given, increasing the likelihood of desirable outcomes and lowering the risks of side effects.

"Although it represents a major advance in radiotherapy treatment technology, RapidArc is easy to implement," continues Dr. Slotman. "It requires no major process changes from the physician, physicist, dosimetrist or therapist, as the steps for planning and delivering treatments are virtually unchanged."

"Varian's technology for image-guided radiation therapy was advanced to begin with, and now Varian is adding fast and efficient arc therapy that can be delivered in multiple planes, volumetrically," says William F. Regine, MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and chief of radiation oncology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. "It's a testament to what can happen when the thought leaders in industry work together with innovative clinical researchers. The result is something that makes a practical difference to patient care and to our ability to offer whatever is best for each of our patients."

"Customer interest in RapidArc has been tremendous," adds Dow Wilson. "This technology extends the versatility of Varian's image-guided radiotherapy system, adding volumetric arc therapy to other advan
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