Varian Introduces Upgradeable, Single-Room Proton Therapy System

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical Systems has introduced an upgradeable, single-room proton therapy system which enables fully-rotational pencil-beam scanning treatments from around $25 million. The entry-level Probeam Compact system, which will be highlighted next week at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in San Anotnio, Texas, is meant to be a cost-effective way to acquire best-in-class proton therapy treatment technology, imaging, motion management and software.

Proton therapy is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often in the treatment of cancer.

“This is the most complete single-room proton system on the market which avoids many of the compromises made by other single-room systems,” said Jan Timmer, senior manager of product marketing for Varian’s Particle Therapy division. “Unlike other similarly-priced systems, the entry-level Probeam Compact can deliver the beam and generate images from 360 degrees around the patient, providing a greater range of treatment options. It also offers unrivalled patient throughput as well as a full package of integrated image guidance and motion management tools, and its capabilities can grow over time with the clinic. This new platform has been designed to minimize the cost and space requirements for deploying a proton therapy system, making the adoption of proton treatments by existing cancer centers more feasible and affordable.”

“We have introduced this entry-level Probeam Compact system because we believe customers do not want to compromise when making such a significant long-term investment,” said Moataz Karmalawy, Ph.D., general manager of Varian’s Particle Therapy division. “We believe proton therapy will become the standard of care for many disease sites in the future and this system makes advanced proton therapy more affordable and accessible for today’s cancer patients.”

A fully-featured ProBeam Compact installation includes a space-efficient cyclotron, Varian’s proprietary Dynamic Peak scanning technology for intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT), a fully rotational gantry, robotic patient positioning tools, and a comprehensive suite of motion management tools. It incorporates cone beam computed tomography (CT) imaging for positioning the patient based on high quality anatomical images with excellent soft tissue resolution, as well as the option of planning and managing treatments using Varian’s Eclipse and ARIA software systems.

The Probeam Compact system is operated using the same interface Varian developed for its Truebeam platform, which consists of a console that consolidates controls for imaging, treatment, and motion management in one graphical interface. Company officials note that operators who have used Varian technology to plan and deliver conventional radiotherapy can easily learn to use and quickly ramp up to use the Probeam system because they can leverage their prior experience.

Varian’s Probeam technology is being used to treat patients at the Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego, Calif.; the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center in Munich, Germany; and at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. Varian also has contracts for system installations at 12 other sites around the world.

Varian Medical makes technology for fighting cancer and for X-ray imaging.