September 22, 2017 — Varian Medical Systems announced a patient at Penn Medicine, with head & neck cancer, became the first person in the world to be treated on Varian's new Halcyon radiation therapy platform. Halcyon is well suited to handle the majority of cancer patients, according to the company, offering advanced treatments for prostate, breast, head & neck, and many other forms of cancer.
The treatment for this patient at Penn Medicine was a complex case that involved the delivery of nine fields. The total patient time in the treatment room, including set-up, imaging, three minutes of beam time and patient discharge, was only 13 minutes. Typically, a treatment like this using other radiation technology can take 10 minutes of beam time and 20 minutes total treatment time.
Halcyon is an advanced system that is more comfortable for the patient while delivering ease of use for healthcare providers, accelerated installation timeframes, expedited commissioning, simplified training and automated treatment.
"We are proud to have delivered the world's first Halcyon treatment, which contributes to our ongoing mission to provide patients the widest and most advanced array of cancer treatment options," said James Metz, M.D., chair of radiation oncology at Penn Medicine. "This platform combines reduced treatment time with simplified operation, and for some diseases, it even lets us be more precise with the radiation we're delivering."
For more information: www.varian.com
May 04, 2026 
