Varian Image-Guided Treatment Machines Selected for Major New Hospital on South Coast ...( PORTSMOUTH England Nov. 29 /- Var...),Health

PORTSMOUTH, England, Nov. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) has this month been selected to provide state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment for a major new hospital in Portsmouth, England. In one of the country's largest replacement projects since the investment waves of the UK government's Cancer Plan earlier this decade, the new Queen Alexandra Hospital will receive four high-energy Clinac(R) iX linear accelerators equipped with On-Board Imager(R) devices for advanced image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) treatments.

Due to open in summer 2009, Queen Alexandra Hospital will enable all acute services currently spread across three sites to be brought together under one roof. This includes the current oncology center at St Mary's Hospital. The new facility will serve a population of 600,000 people.

Tony Palmer, the hospital's head of radiotherapy physics, says, "This new facility will mean we can offer local cancer patients treatments that are truly state-of-the-art internationally. We will also be one of the only NHS cancer centers in the UK with every one of our treatment machines equipped for 3D image-guided radiotherapy, which we feel is crucially important."

According to Mr Palmer, the desire to have all four machines equipped with On-Board Imager accessories was supported by the recommendations of the recent National Radiotherapy Advisory Group (NRAG) report on radiotherapy provision. "The NRAG report highlighted the importance of image-guidance on new linear accelerators and we want to be able to offer our patients the highest quality treatments on all machines, not just one or two," he said. "Our whole team of doctors, radiographers and physicists are very excit
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