Leeds St James acquires eight Elekta linear accelerators for advanced cancer treatment
LEEDS, UK, May 17, 2016 – Leeds Cancer Centre, one of the largest providers of cancer care in the UK, will upgrade its existing treatment equipment with eight Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) Versa HD™ linear accelerators. This replacement will bring world-class treatment to the center, and secure its leading position within cancer treatment in the country.
Dr. Viv Cosgrove, Head of Radiotherapy Physics at Leeds Cancer Centre, says: “The new linear accelerators are able to deliver improvements in treatment accuracy for patients. This will help us increase the use of high dose radiation treatments such as stereotactic body radiotherapy. These treatments reduce the total number of patient visits whilst improving clinical effectiveness.
“The replacement of the existing equipment also allows us to create a very advanced platform for increasing our research and innovation programs, all of which directly benefit patients in the form of clinical trials and research initiatives.”
The Versa HD linear accelerators will include Agility™ multileaf collimators. These, combined with VMAT delivery, could enable clinicians at Leeds Cancer Centre to deliver complex head and neck plans up to 42 percent faster.*
Paddy Greally, Elekta’s Managing Director for the UK and Ireland, says: “The UK registers more than 350,000 new cancer cases every year, and half of these cancer patients will probably have radiotherapy as part of their treatment plan. It is especially satisfying for our colleagues in Crawley, where Versa HD linear accelerators are produced, to know that we are helping to improve and even save the lives of so many people.”
The deal was facilitated by Medipass, a leading European managed equipment services company, which partners with hospitals to manage efficient medical equipment solutions.
Seven of the eight linear accelerators were booked during the fourth quarter of Elekta’s fiscal year 2015-16.
*As compared to previous generation Elekta digital linear accelerators. Stieler F, Steil V, Wenz F, Lohr F, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
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For further information, please contact:
Gert van Santen, Group Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +31 653 561 242, e-mail: gert.vansanten@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European Time
Tobias Bülow, Director Financial Communication, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 722 215 017, e-mail: tobias.bulow@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European Time
The above information is such that Elekta AB (publ) shall make public in accordance with the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was published at 07:30 CET on May 17, 2016.
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 health care 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 3,800 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm. Website: www.elekta.com.
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