Elekta's Radiosurgery Solutions on Center Stage at 2009 Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting

October 23, 2009

NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 2009 Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Annual Meeting, October 24-28 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Elekta will demonstrate how its line of stereotactic solutions expand treatment capabilities and bring new hope for patients presenting serious conditions.

Topping the list of innovations is Extend(TM), a new stereotactic treatment program that lets clinicians apply the power and precision of Gamma Knife® surgery to a broader class of targets, including certain cancers of the head and neck. Including a re-locatable frame and support for fractionated treatments, Extend provides cross functional advantages in both SRS and SRT for both neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists.

Extend for Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion(TM) received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September and is now available in the United States.

"When faced with lesions that are too large or too critically located to be safely treated in a single session, Extend enables clinicians to divide the radiation dose over multiple treatments," says Mark Symons, Senior Vice President of Elekta's Neuroscience Business Unit. "The system also includes a highly precise non-invasive fixation option, allowing clinicians to treat more patients with greater confidence."

Other meeting highlights

This year Elekta marks 60 years since the stereotactic frame has been in clinical use, a development that led to modern radiosurgery. Using stereotactic methods, Elekta has been able to design and deliver highly technical solutions that offer new treatment possibilities for cancer and brain disorders, including:

    --  Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion(TM), a fine-tuned radiosurgery tool that
        has the capability to treat multiple brain metastases in a single
        session, reducing the damage to healthy tissue that may limit future
        treatment options and allowing for concomitant chemotherapy for optimum
        primary tumor control.

    --  Elekta Axesse(TM), a fully integrated stereotactic system that combines
        3D target visualization at time of treatment, 6D sub-millimeter robotic
        patient positioning and high resolution beam shaping, making it a
        versatile treatment system perfectly suited for spine radiosurgery and
        neuro-oncology.

    --  Elekta Neuromag®, a magnetoencephalography (MEG) that moves beyond
        conventional imaging and clinical neurophysiology tools to provide
        clinicians and researchers with precise millisecond resolution and
        accurate localization to open a new window into human brain activity.

    --  Leksell Stereotactic System®, a complete stereotactic system that
        offers the level of accuracy and reliability required to perform
        diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with absolute ease and confidence.

    --  SonoWand Invite(TM) *, an intracranial, intra-operative imaging system
        that provides real-time image clarity and spatial accuracy throughout
        surgery, allowing the surgeon to perform complicated tumor resections
        and vascular procedures safely, and with confidence the job is complete.

Elekta also plans to host an event in conjunction with the meeting. For additional information, visit elekta.com/CNS2009.

*SonoWand Invite(TM) is being prepared for sale in North America, subject to market interest

About Elekta

Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated state of the art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.

Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives, making the future possible today.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta Group.

Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. For more information about Elekta, please visit www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta