Radiation therapy firm Varian Medical Systems and the Paul Scherrer Institute of Switzerland are extending their proton therapy collaboration to offer patients more precise cancer treatments using intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT).
Under the terms of the agreement, Varian will supply technology and equipment to help meet growing demand for clinical research and treatments at the institute, the organizations said.
IMPT was pioneered using pencil-beam scanning at the Paul Scherrer Institute and made commercially available by Varian. The technique enables clinicians to optimize precision when treating tumors, Varian said.
The value of the equipment portion of the contract is approximately 7.3 million euros and it will be booked in the second quarter of fiscal 2014.
Varian's scanning-beam IMPT technology is already being used at the Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego, California, in the U.S. and the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center in Munich. Varian also has contracts to install ProBeam systems at six additional sites in the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
