Varian Debuts Updated Extremities and Neonatal Imaging System

Varian Medical Systems is debuting its updated Paxscan imaging system, the 2530W, at this week’s annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, Ill. The original Paxscan system was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the early aughts. The updated Paxscan is touted as a lightweight, wireless, flat-panel, digital X-ray image detector marketed primarily for imaging extremities and for neonatal imaging.

“This year we’re especially pleased to present our newest wireless digital X-ray image detector, the Paxscan 2530W, a lightweight, cost effective panel with the same high quality imaging capability of our larger wireless panels in a smaller ten-by-twelve inch package,” said Steve Kimmel, vice president of sales and marketing for Varian’s imaging components business. “It offers ease-of-use advantages over large field detectors, and is suitable for use in a majority of practice applications.”

At the conference, Varian will also exhibit X-ray components designed to meet the needs of two emerging trends in mammography: the demand for greater throughput and for higher power in advanced applications. Varian’s new B-121 mammography housing enables higher throughput for busy screening applications and is designed to fit into existing installations. The new M-1580 X-ray tube is designed for advanced applications like CT (computed tomography) mammography and slit scanning, which reportedly yield higher contrast when imaging large or dense areas of the breast.

Varian will also showcase the company’s technologies for treating cancer with targeted radiotherapy and radiosurgery, including the new Rapidplan knowledge-based treatment planning software, which uses an evolving knowledge base to streamline the planning process and help clinicians increase plan quality.

“Without this tool, radiotherapy treatment planning is an iterative process requiring several rounds of trial-and-error revisions,” said Chris Toth, vice president of global marketing for Varian’s oncology systems business. “RapidPlan provides clinics with models that help the user produce a near-ideal plan the first time, reducing or even eliminating the need for multiple time consuming iterations.”

Based on Palo Alto, Calif., Varian Medical Systems makes medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, and brachytherapy.