ELEKTA TO INSTALL THE FIRST LEKSELL GAMMA KNIFE® IN KUWAIT

PRESS RELEASE
Stockholm, Sweden, October 19, 2006

During the month of October, Elekta and its distributor Advanced Technology Company, will deliver the first Leksell Gamma Knife® unit in Kuwait to Ibn Sina Hospital in Kuwait City.

The Ibn Sina University Hospital is the national center of neurosurgery in Kuwait, providing comprehensive high quality care to Kuwaiti citizens and also to patients from neighboring countries. Neurosurgical services has been available in Kuwait for 34 years, and with an ambitious program to keep up with the constant changes in modern neurosurgery, the Ibn Sina Hospital also provide training opportunities for younger doctors and teaching for medical students in the field of neurosurgery.

Following the acquisition of Leksell Gamma Knife 4C, physicians at Ibn Sina will be able to offer state-of-the-art technology for non-invasive brain surgery to patients not only in Kuwait but also from neighboring countries.

“There are large groups of patients with brain tumors, arteriovenous malformations and other brain disorders that will benefit from our purchase of Leksell Gamma Knife”, comments Prof. Abbas Ramadan at Ibn Sina. “Stereotactic radiosurgery is an efficient and well-proven method of treating patients that otherwise often would have been referred to open craniotomy or to a Gamma Knife Center abroad. At Ibn Sina Hospital, our ambition is to become a leading center in the region, and the installation of Leksell Gamma Knife is a major step forward in our development”, he concludes.

Gamma Knife® surgery

Gamma Knife surgery is a non-invasive method for treating brain disorders. It is defined as the delivery of a single, high dose of radiation to a small and critically located intracranial volume through the intact skull. After Gamma Knife surgery, the patient normally leaves the hospital the same or the following day, making it a very cost effective alternative to open surgery.

Since its introduction, Leksell Gamma Knife has revolutionized the treatment of brain disorders. Today, this treatment is offered by hundreds of leading hospitals and clinics around the world. Around 50,000 patients undergo Gamma Knife surgery every year, and this unique procedure has earned an outstanding scientific track record with thousands of peer reviewed articles on treatment efficacy, improved quality of life for patients and cost efficiency.


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