The Novalis Tx for stereotactic radiosurgery
Novalis Tx, a system for stereotactic radiosurgery, has resulted from a partnership between the Munich-based medical technology company BrainLAB AG and Varian Medical Systems Inc, two firms that have successfully worked together on radiation therapy products for over a decade. The powerful linear accelerator Trilogy Tx and special technology for beam focusing was contributed by Varian; BrainLAB, which focuses on surgery and radiosurgery, provided the software.
The system is suitable for the radiation of tumours and vascular abnormalities in the brain, along with tumours in the head & neck, spine, lungs and liver. The companies report that Novalis Tx cuts down on treatment times and offers versatile radiation modalities. ‘The integrated system facilitates continuous radiosurgical treatment from the planning stage to patient positioning — and monitoring and implementation. The collimator, with a fin spacing of 2.5 millimetres, adapts the treatment beam precisely to the shape of the tumour. This means that a high radiation dose can be administered whilst the surrounding tissue remains largely unaffected.’
Treatment flexibility
The Novalis Tx offers different treatment possibilities for a multitude of indications, such as malignant and benign tissue changes, vascular abnormalities and functional lesions. ‘Due to the dynamic beam focusing and the frameless patient positioning clinical oncologists can choose individual treatment options such as radiosurgery or image guided radiotherapy (IGRT), depending on indication. Treatment becomes more effective and patient friendly.’
Novalis Tx uses multiple radiation energy from 6-20 million electrovolt (MeV) to treat deep-lying tumours and to preserve the surrounding, healthy tissue. The high performance of the linear accelerator with 1,000 monitor units allows hospitals to carry out twice as many radiosurgery treatments per day with the Novalis Tx than they would be able to do with any other systems currently available, the companies point out. ‘With the Novalis Tx, Varian and BrainLAB are offering clinical oncologists, neurosurgeons and other experts the leading, current radiosurgery system,’ said Tim Guertin, president and CEO of Varian Medical System
This article was published on 11/16/2007