OREANDA-NEWS. Cancer patients in Finland will gain access to the latest radiotherapy and radiosurgery treatments with the news that Helsinki University Hospital has ordered four advanced medical linear accelerators from Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR). The decision to acquire two Edge™ Radiosurgery systems and two TrueBeam™ systems from Varian represents the largest order ever placed for radiotherapy equipment in the country.

Three of the machines will be installed in new treatment rooms to provide extra capacity at Helsinki University Hospital and are scheduled to be clinical by the end of 2018. The fourth new machine will replace an existing linear accelerator. This order was placed in September.

"TrueBeam and Edge are highly integrated linear accelerators for the most modern radiotherapy and radiosurgery treatments," said Dr. Mikko Tenhunen, head of radiotherapy physics at Helsinki University Hospital. "These new systems will greatly increase our ability to deliver advanced treatments such as stereotactic radiosurgery and image-guided radiotherapy, which will have a big impact on the treatments we can deliver here."

Ramin Baghaie, Varian's managing director in Finland, added, "We look forward to extending our relationship with Helsinki University Hospital to expand the range of treatment options for cancer patients in Finland."

Varian's TrueBeam system features a multitude of technical innovations that dynamically synchronize imaging, patient positioning, motion management, and treatment delivery. It was designed to treat tumors in a fast and precise manner, including cancers such as lung and breast that move during treatment as the patient breathes in and out. Based on the TrueBeam platform, the Edge system is optimized for radiosurgery.

Helsinki University Hospital has Finland's largest radiotherapy department, treating patients from the Helsinki and Uusimaa districts as well as offering special treatments for patients throughout the country. The center treats about 5,000 cancer patients with radiotherapy and radiosurgery each year. This order represents the largest single radiotherapy order ever placed by the hospital.

There are currently around 40 Varian linear accelerators installed in oncology departments across Finland.