• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

First Patients Treated in India Using CyberKnife Radiosurgery

Posted on: Friday, 3 April 2009, 11:05 CDT

Newly Installed System at Apollo Hospital Treats Six and Preps Eight Patients in First Week

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), a global leader in the field of radiosurgery, announced today that the first patients in India have been treated using CyberKnife radiosurgery. The CyberKnife System, which is located at the Apollo Specialty Cancer Hospital in Chennai, India, treated six patients in its first week of operation, with eight more patients in the treatment planning process being readied for treatment.

"Our new CyberKnife System allows us to deliver highly precise radiosurgical treatments to patients with tumors throughout the body," said Prathap C. Reddy, M.D., executive chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group. "We are very glad to have begun treating patients and look forward to witnessing the benefits that the System offers, including real-time tracking of tumors that move with respiration."

The CyberKnife treatment team at Apollo Hospital consists of a trained team of highly experienced radiation oncologists, radiation therapists and a neurosurgeon. The team plans to focus on CyberKnife radiosurgery for lung, liver and prostate treatment as well as head, neck and spine treatments. Lung cancer is currently one of the leading cancer incidences and causes of death amongst men in India. (National Cancer Registry, ICMR-New Delhi)

"Since India is the second most populous nation in the world, we are excited that CyberKnife radiosurgery is now an option for its population and that the first patients have received treatment," said Eric P. Lindquist, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Accuray. "We believe this is just the first step in the opening of a large market for the CyberKnife System, as illustrated by the momentum within this System's first week of use."

Advanced Medical Systems (headquartered in Singapore), the company responsible for placing the CyberKnife at Apollo Hospital, will assist in marketing and providing end user support for the new CyberKnife System through its Accuray trained team of engineers and applications specialists based in India.

About Apollo Hospitals

It was in 1983 that Dr. Prathap Reddy made a pioneering endeavor by launching India's first corporate hospital - Apollo Hospital in Chennai. An integrated healthcare company, the group has around 10,000 beds across 45 hospitals, more than 750 pharmacies and 100 diagnostic clinics, medical business process outsourcing services, health insurance services, and clinical research divisions with a focus on epidemiological studies, stem cell research and genetic research. To develop talent for the burgeoning need of superior healthcare delivery, the group has 10 nursing and hospital management colleges. Harnessing technology to enhance access across India and share the repository of knowledge, there are more than 100 telemedicine units across seven countries. For more information, please visit: www.apollohospitals.com.

About the CyberKnife(R) Robotic Radiosurgery System

The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System is the world's only robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat tumors anywhere in the body non-invasively. Using continual image guidance technology and computer controlled robotic mobility, the CyberKnife System automatically tracks, detects and corrects for tumor and patient movement in real-time throughout the treatment. This enables the CyberKnife System to deliver high-dose radiation with pinpoint precision, which minimizes damage to surrounding healthy tissue and eliminates the need for invasive head or body stabilization frames.

About Accuray

Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a global leader in the field of radiosurgery dedicated to providing an improved quality of life and a non-surgical treatment option for those diagnosed with cancer. Accuray develops and markets the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, which extends the benefits of radiosurgery to include extracranial tumors, including those in the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. To date, the CyberKnife System has been used to treat more than 60,000 patients worldwide and currently more than 155 systems have been installed in leading hospitals in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.accuray.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

The foregoing may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties associated with the medical device industry. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements relating to commercialization of products, regulatory review and approval and clinical studies are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual performance and results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make include: market acceptance of products; competing products, the combination of our products with complementary technology; and other risks detailed from time to time under the heading "Risk Factors" in our report on Form 10-K for the 2008 fiscal year, as updated in our Form 10-Q filed on February 5, 2009 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results of operations may differ significantly from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements as a result of these and other factors. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual performance or results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Accuray Incorporated

Source: PR Newswire

More News in this Category