Turkish Hospital Group orders four RapidArc radiotherapy systems

17 August 2009

Acibadem Healthcare Group, based in Istanbul, Turkey, has acquired four additional treatment machines from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR). Acibadem has expanded its radiotherapy facilities in Turkey from three to five with new centres in Adana and Kayseri.

RapidArc treatments have commenced at Acibadem’s Maslak Hospital in Istanbul, enabling the hospital to extend more advanced care to more patients. Doctors at Maslak are using the technology to carry out image-guided IMRT (intensity modulated radiotherapy) treatments on a range of tumours.

Dr Enis Özyar, M.D., professor of radiation oncology with Acibadem Healthcare Group, said, “Our group continually invests in the latest technology and we seek to offer the most advanced cancer care in Turkey,” said Dr. Özyar. “We are delighted to be the first in the country to offer RapidArc treatments.

“Having departments equipped by Varian brings tremendous advantages to our group and our patients, because all our centres are integrated and connected and remote access is possible to all planning and patient information systems. It makes it easier for our professionals to deliver treatments by standardizing treatment protocols and plans.”

Acibadem Healthcare Group established its first radiotherapy center in Turkey in 2005, siting two Varian Clinac linear accelerators in Istanbul Kozyatagi Hospital. A second centre equipped with two more Clinac accelerators was opened in Bursa in April last year, while the third  and largest radiotherapy facility was established in at Istanbul’s Maslak Hospital earlier this year, with a Trilogy unit for radiosurgery and a Clinac accelerator with RapidArc capability, along with a VariSource HDR (high dose rate) brachytherapy unit. Each site has a suite of Varian’s ARIA oncology information management software and Eclipse treatment planning software.

The two new departments in Adana and Kayseri have just commenced treatments, matching Maslak with a Trilogy, a Clinac, a VariSource and full suites of software. With their new equipment and software, all five hospitals in the Acibadem Healthcare Group are able to offer IMRT and IGRT. The group placed orders for the new equipment and software in March.

“Acibadem Healthcare Group has quickly become one of our most significant customers in Europe, demonstrating a commitment to improving treatment excellence,” says Michael Sandhu, head of Varian’s Oncology Systems business in Europe. “We are delighted that Acibadem is ensuring that an increasing number of Turkish cancer patients will gain access to advanced radiotherapy treatments.”

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