Karolinska University Hospital Solna Delivers HDR Brachytherapy Cancer Treatments with Varian Bravos Afterloader System
PALO ALTO, California and STOCKHOLM, July 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian (NYSE: VAR) announced that the Karolinska University Hospital Solna in Sweden is the first hospital in Scandinavia to deliver High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy treatments using the new Bravos™ afterloader system. Bravos is an advanced integrated system designed to improve the patient and clinic experience by simplifying brachytherapy treatments and provide greater workflow efficiency.
HDR brachytherapy involves delivering radiotherapy by temporarily placing a small radioactive source directly into the tumor or other targeted area. Using the Bravos afterloader, clinicians are able to position the radioactive source in a needle, catheter or tumor-specific applicator following a pattern that has been designed to create a highly conformal dose distribution within or on the surface of the patient's anatomy. Once the treatment is completed, the source safely returns to the Bravos afterloader.
To simplify the treatment process, the Bravos afterloader features intuitive color-coded indicator lights that confirm correct applicator connections. To enrich the patient experience, a touchscreen provides easy access to patient treatment information directly on the afterloader, eliminating the need for the clinician to leave the room to retrieve patient and treatment information.
To help increase efficiency of the treatment process, Bravos features a pre-treatment checklist. Like surgical procedures, the customizable checklist allows the clinician to set a review process including a time-out for patient safety and e-signatures for speed and accuracy.
"In addition to equipping its centers with Varian medical linear accelerators, we applaud Karolinska University Hospital for taking this step to bring Varian's latest and most advanced brachytherapy technology to cancer patients and are thrilled a facility of this stature has chosen Varian," said Jean-Luc Devleeschauwer, president, Varian Oncology Systems EMEIA. "At Varian, we have done the groundwork to understand the needs of patients and clinicians to help simplify the brachytherapy treatment process. The result is Bravos and it is another important step toward advancing the treatment and care for cancer patients globally."
About Varian
At Varian, we envision a world without fear of cancer. For more than 70 years, we have developed, built and delivered innovative cancer care technologies and solutions for our clinical partners around the globe to help them treat millions of patients each year. With an Intelligent Cancer Care approach, we are harnessing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to enhance cancer treatment and expand access to care. Our 9,200 employees across 70 countries keep the patient and our clinical partners at the center of our thinking as we power new victories in cancer care. Because, for cancer patients everywhere, their fight is our fight. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com and follow @VarianMedSys on Twitter.
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