by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | November 29, 2017
From the November 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Varian’s Halcyon linac offers high capability radiotherapy at a competitive price
Varian Medical Systems unveiled its Halcyon linear accelerator for image-guided volumetric intensity modulated radiotherapy in May, touting the system as being twice as fast as other radiotherapy modalities on the market.
The system, which can complete certain treatments in as little as 13 minutes, was designed for simplicity and requires only nine steps where conventional systems may require 30 or more.
“Everyone knows there’s a shift in health care economics in the U.S., but in other countries everyone is focused on efficiency,” Mu Young Lee, director of new product solutions at Varian, told HCB News. “Whether you’re in China or France or America, we have an aging population everywhere, so the need for efficiency is important worldwide.”
The Halcyon was also designed to yield economic advantages in overall cost of ownership. It comes pre-commissioned, requires less shielding than traditional systems and can fit in a vault as small as 19.68 feet x 18.17 feet x 8.99 feet high and can be installed in two weeks or less.
The main problem hospitals will face in the next five to 10 years is a lack of clinicians to care for the growing elderly population, according to Lee. Halcyon is intended to deliver high-quality treatment to a wide range of patients.
In order to support the gantry rotation speed and simultaneously deliver the treatment dose precisely to the targeted area, the Halcyon is designed with a patented dual-layer, multi-leaf collimator that moves twice as fast as standard MLCs.
The system had received regulatory clearance for marketing in the U.S. and Europe in June.
