June 28, 2013 — Kettering Medical Center in Ohio recently began installing Versa HD, an advanced linear accelerator (linac) system designed to improve patient care and treat a wide range of tumors throughout the body. Kettering, a regional center of excellence in stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for indications throughout the body, also operates a Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion system dedicated for SRS in the brain.
According to Douglas Einstein, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of radiation oncology at Kettering, the addition of Versa HD at Kettering Medical Center is the "next evolution" of the clinic's SRS activities over the last several years – which encompasses more than 500 patient treatments – and signifies the center's commitment to providing western Ohio patients with the most advanced techniques available.
Versa HD gives clinicians the flexibility to deliver conventional therapies to treat a broad spectrum of tumors throughout the body, while also enabling treatment of highly complex cancers that require extreme targeting precision.
"With Versa HD, we believe we can cut total treatment delivery times for our patients in half," Einstein says. "Due to our extensive experience with SRS, many patients travel to Kettering from a distance to receive our state-of-the-art treatments. This technology will allow more patients to be treated per day. Equally important, shorter treatment times will enhance patient comfort.
"Patients undergoing SRS for lung cancer, for example, may have their arms raised for a 30-minute session and that can be difficult," he adds. "We treat many elderly patients who find the SRS treatment time demanding. The High Dose Rate mode of Versa HD will shorten radiation beam delivery time and potentially improve patient comfort in SRS cases.
"The Versa HD MLC will enable even more conformal treatments that should significantly limit normal tissue exposure and decrease side effects. We can deliver these state-of-the-art techniques with Versa HD and do it such a way that it not only manages their cancer, but also minimizes the impact of treatment on their quality of life."
For more information: www.versahd.com
