Singapore Center Uses Elekta's Agility Beam-shaping Innovation for First Time in Radiotherapy Treatments of Cancer Patients

SINGAPORE, Sept. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 3, three patients became Gleneagles Hospital's first to receive their radiation therapy treatments on the center's new Elekta Synergy® treatment system equipped with Agility™* 160-leaf multi-leaf collimator (MLC). The beam-shaping solution's ultra-fast leaf movements enabled clinicians at Gleneagles Hospital to cut treatment times nearly in half.

"Beam delivery for two of the patients took almost half the time it takes on the existing treatment system," says Yak Koon Tay, Chief Physicist at Gleneagles Hospital. Gleneagles Hospital acquired Elekta Synergy in June with Agility integrated, powered by the Integrity™ R3.0 digital control system and is the first Center in Southeast Asia to have Agility 160-leaf MLC. The center also plans treatments with Elekta's Monaco® treatment planning system.

"Patients benefit from various advantages that Agility brings, including low transmission, high leaf speed, optimal leaf width, orthogonal tracking jaws and consistently good penumbra and accuracy," Mr. Tay observes. "With the low MLC transmission of less than 0.5 percent, patients with cancer will receive reduced mean dose to organs-at-risk."

Integrity and Monaco bring added advantages
In addition to state-of-the-art beam shaping with Agility, Elekta Synergy promises smooth and safe delivery of all treatment techniques with the Integrity control system, he adds.

"Accuracy and performance are significantly improved with Integrity," Mr. Tay says. "Continuously Variable Dose Rate [CVDR] – which allows the dose rate to be adjusted to its ideal value during delivery of both dynamic and VMAT techniques – makes the delivery of the prescription smoother and faster when compared to a discrete dose rate."

Monaco – with the gold standard Monte Carlo dose algorithm – has helped physicians at Gleneagles Hospital provide fast and accurate dose delivery to patients, he adds.

"The measured dose in the phantom and planning dose are accurate and gives us confidence that what we plan is what we deliver," he says.

On September 14, Gleneagles Hospital brought the Agility-equipped Elekta Synergy up to a full-day's schedule of 25 to 30 patients.

Learn more about Agility at www.elekta.com/agility.

*Agility is not available for sale or distribution in all markets. Please contact the local Elekta representative for details.

For further information, please contact:
Johan Andersson Melbi, Investor Relations Manager, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 702 100 451, email: johan.anderssonmelbi@elekta.com  
Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Michelle Joiner, Director, Global Public Relations and Brand Management, Elekta
Tel: +1 770-670-2447, email: michelle.joiner@elekta.com 
Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

About Elekta
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,400 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. Website: www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta