Varians new linear accelerator treats first patient

A 55-year-old female head and neck cancer patient from the Istituto Oncologico della Svizzera Italiana in Bellinzona, Switzerland was the first person to be treated clinically via Varian Medical Systems' new single energy medical linear accelerator, Unique.

The radiotherapy delivery device replaces a low energy accelerator at the facility and will deliver RapidArc radiotherapy to patients with head and neck, brain and breast cancers, said the Palo Alto-based company.

 

Around the web

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses some of the biggest obstacles facing the specialty in the new year. 

Deepak Bhatt, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and principal investigator of the TRANSFORM trial, explains an emerging technique for cardiac screening: combining coronary CT angiography with artificial intelligence for plaque analysis to create an approach similar to mammography.

A total of 16 cardiology practices from 12 states settled with the DOJ to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare for imaging agents used to diagnose cardiovascular disease.