November 29, 2007 - Clinicians at BC Cancer Agency in Vancouver, BC, have treated a new form of radiotherapy believed to be the first of its type in the world, using a technique called volumetric arc therapy (VMAT), clinicians were able to deliver a single treatment to their 72-year-old patient in less than two minutes.
The VMAT treatment is an advanced form of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), which has the potential to measurably improve treatment precision by sparing more healthy tissue in addition to making treatments much faster and more comfortable for patients. The treatment was created by software innovations developed by BC Cancer Agency clinicians together with an advanced medical linear accelerator and beam-shaping accessory from Varian Medical Systems.
VMAT technology makes it possible to deliver the dose to the entire tumor volume in a single rotation around the patient.
For more information: www.varian.com
May 19, 2026 
