PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- To monitor
tumor movements and enhance the precision during image-guided
radiotherapy treatments, Moinhos de Vento Hospital became the first
cancer center in Brazil to begin
using the Calypso® system from Varian Medical Systems
(NYSE: VAR). Used with a Varian TrueBeam® medical linear
accelerator to treat a prostate cancer patient on January 10th, the Calypso system
detects even slight movements of a tumor so it can be targeted
accurately with the treatment beam.
The Calypso beacon system works by implanting transponders
approximately the size of a grain of rice into the tumor so that
the tumor location can be tracked from outside the
patient. The transponders emit non-ionizing electromagnetic
signals that are tracked in real-time and used to keep a treatment
beam on target.
"With Calypso, treatments are faster, with fewer side effects
and it is possible to deliver a more concentrated dose of
radiotherapy," said Wilson de Almeida
Junior, Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery Unit coordinator at
the Center for Oncology.
According to Rafael da Luz Boeno, a specialist in the Urology
Unit at Moinhos de Vento Hospital, "High-precision radiotherapy
provides a great advance, especially in cases of prostate cancer.
Several studies corroborate the efficiency of the Calypso System in
accurately locating the tumor, and reducing the side effects of
radiotherapy, such as urinary incontinence and erectile
dysfunction.1 The implantation of the transponders is
done with anesthesia, without pain and as an outpatient
procedure."
"Calypso is an evolution for more effective treatments, and with
fewer after effects," said Sérgio Roithmann, head of the Medical
Service of the Center of Oncology. "Each time an important advance
like this happens, we can combine treatments more safely and the
patient can benefit from radiotherapy, chemotherapy, biological and
surgery associations."
About Varian Medical Systems
Varian Medical Systems
focuses energy on saving lives and is the world's leading
manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating and
managing cancer. Headquartered in Palo
Alto, California, Varian employs approximately 6,400 people
at sites around the world. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com and follow @VarianMedSys on Twitter.
- Calypso® System: Assessing the Impact of Margin
Reduction (AIM) Study,
http://varian.com/sites/default/files/resource_attachments/Calypso_AIM_Study-RAD10259Oct12.pdf
Press Contact
Mark Plungy
Varian Medical Systems
+1 (650) 424-5630
mark.plungy@varian.com
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SOURCE Varian Medical Systems