Hi·Art System® Heads to Belgium
Residents of Brussels and the surrounding region will soon be able to access locally the world’s most advanced cancer treatment system. The AZ-VUB (Academisch Ziekenhuis Van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel), one of Belgium’s leading university hospitals, is planning to install the TomoTherapy Hi·Art System® in the first quarter of 2005.
“We are extremely excited to have this cutting-edge technology as it allows us to deliver precision radiation therapy and will have tremendous positive impact for our patients,” explains Professor Guy Storme, head of the Radiotherapy Department at the AZ-VUB.
“Our goal is to provide technology that exceeds the market standard for delivery accuracy, ease of use, and patient comfort,” says Jack Reese, Director of International Sales at TomoTherapy Incorporated. “We set out to integrate and simplify the radiation therapy process while improving accuracy.”
“Since the [TomoTherapy] system increases treatment accuracy, patients may benefit from reduced side effects and improved clinical results,” explains Professor Storme. The ability to do 3-D imaging immediately before each treatment to verify the location of a tumor also increases precision. “Often between treatments a patient’s tumor can move. So by verifying before each treatment, a patient’s tumor can be precisely targeted increasing accuracy of delivery,” says Prof. Dr. Dirk Verellen, Chief Medical Physicist.
The department of Radiotherapy is one example of the AZ-VUB’s principal to make quality medical services available to everyone without financial barriers. As an academic hospital, health-care innovation is important at the AZ-VUB, and the acquisition of the Hi·Art System will complement their already outstanding facilities, and advance the goal to reduce side effects without compromising cure.
18 Nov 2004
