First Elekta VMAT Facility in Japan Approaches One-Year Milestone

Tokyo, Japan, June 26, 2009

University of Tokyo Hospital has been treating patients for nearly one year with Elekta Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT). The hospital was the first facility in Japan to use this revolutionary cancer-fighting tool, which can shorten radiation treatment times and provide state-of-the-art precision in dose control to give cancer patients the best possible outcomes.

On August 28, 2008, University of Tokyo treated a patient with prostate cancer with VMAT on Elekta Synergy®, making it the first VMAT facility in Japan. Since, more than 32 patients have received VMAT treatment at the facility, including three head and neck patients and prostate patients – with an additional six new prostate patients each month.

“VMAT provides a cost-effective solution for both medical staff and patients,” says Keiichi Nakagawa, M.D., Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Radiology at University of Tokyo Hospital . “The amount of time needed for planning, QA and treatments is much less than for traditional Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) techniques.” Elekta VMAT requires significantly fewer MUs than conventional IMRT, reducing total MU delivery by up to 50 percent.

VMAT with Elekta Synergy and ERGO++ treatment planning software allows clinicians to achieve better organ-at-risk sparing in far less time, with simultaneous control of gantry position and speed, multileaf collimator (MLC) leaves, dose rate and collimator angle, while the beam is on and rotating.

ERGO++ uses a special algorithm to perform instantaneous dose calculations, enabling highly conformal and complex plans, and ensuring the maximum possible dose is delivered while minimizing the dose to surrounding critical structures.

University of Tokyo Hospital did much of the background research on VMAT and ERGO++, from beam modeling to dose verification, making it easier for two other hospitals in Japan to implement VMAT programs as well.

“Elekta VMAT and Japan are a very good combination, because VMAT is based on traditional Japanese dynamic conformal therapy, and so is very easily accepted,” says Dr. Nakagawa. “VMAT is just what we’ve been looking for.”

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For further information, please contact:

Stina Thorman, Investor Relations, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 8 587 254 37, +46 70 778 60 10, e-mail: stina.thorman@elekta.com

Eri Takayanagi, Elekta KK
Tel: +81 3 6722 3800, e-mail: eri.takayanagi@elekta.com

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, click here.