Swiss patient treated with Varian's Gated RapidArc technology

Radiotherapy provider Varian Medical Systems has treated its first patient with its Gated RapidArc system, a radiotherapy treatment technology that monitors patient breathing and compensates for tumor motion.

The 51-year-old breast cancer patient was treated at the Istituto Oncologico della Svizzera Italiana radiation oncology unit in Bellinzona, Switzerland, in approximately four minutes, stated Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian. 

The technology, which is now a standard feature on the TrueBeam system and is available as an option or upgrade on the Trilogy and Clinac iX accelerators from Varian, will be used to treat all left-sided breast cancer patients when there is a need to include the supraclavicolar or internal mammary chain lymph nodes, as well as lung and other thoracic and abdominal cancer patients at the Swiss facility, the company said.

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