Varian receives US clearance for proton therapy system
31 Jan 2011
Varian Medical Systems has received FDA 510(k) clearance for
the Varian Proton Therapy System which generates protons for precision
radiotherapy of lesions, tumours, and conditions anywhere where
radiation treatment is indicated.
It is the first working system capable of delivering precise
intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) using pencil beam scanning
technology.
"With this clearance, we have reached a significant milestone in
the development of the Varian Particle Therapy (VPT) business and
technology," said Lester Boeh, vice president of emerging businesses
for Varian Medical Systems. "It means our clinical partners will be
able to treat patients as soon as their systems are commissioned
without the need to seek individual site-specific clearances. This
will make it easier for customers to secure financing for their
projects."
Varian is actively marketing its system under the ProBeam brand,
and it has been selected as the preferred supplier for several
proton therapy projects, including the Scripps Proton Therapy Center
which is now under construction in San Diego where treatments are
scheduled to begin in 2013. The Varian ProBeam system has also been
selected for centers planned in Maryland, Italy and other locations
in the United States and Europe. Varian will not book an order for
any of these projects until contracts and financing are completed.
Varian's IMPT technology gives clinicians more options for
delivering dose more precisely in order to spare more healthy tissue
in the course of delivering treatments. "Our scanning beam IMPT
technology combines a high quality of care with the potential for
higher patient throughput and improved cost efficiency, and we
believe it will improve the economics and effectiveness of proton
therapy," Boeh said.
Proton therapy destroys tumours by delivering protons that stop
at specified depths within the anatomy, thereby reducing exposure of
healthy tissue. Varian's scanning beam technology enables IMPT by
modulating dose levels on a spot-by-spot basis throughout the
treatment area. Irradiations from multiple angles are combined in an
optimal manner to improve control of dose distributions. Scanning
beam technology also eliminates the time-consuming need to manually
insert separate shaping accessories for each beam angle in order to
match the beam to the shape of the tumour.
Varian's scanning beam IMPT technology is already at work in the
Rinecker Proton Therapy Center in Germany, which has now treated
several hundred patients.