| University of Virginia upgrades to Revolutionary Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ Atlanta, GA, September 12, 2006 Neurosurgeons at the University of Virginia Medical Center (U.Va.) have long been pioneers and proponents of Gamma Knife® surgery. Now, U.Va. continues its leadership record as one of the first hospitals in the world to purchase Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™, which is revolutionizing radiosurgery. U.Va. was the second hospital in the U.S. and the fifth in the world to purchase a Leksell Gamma Knife® in 1989, and is known as a leader in this minimally invasive alternative to open brain surgery. More than 600 patients a year are treated at the U.Va. Gamma Knife Center, and the center has drawn patients from every state in the U.S. as well as from 53 other countries.
Thanks to the robotic controls, physicians have an unprecedented ability to develop and deliver complex treatment plans. Because the accuracy is as precise as a pinpoint, critical structures are avoided and a larger dose can be concentrated on the target.
“It is the single most complete and state-of-the-art radiosurgical tool for the brain and cervical spine,” says Jason Sheehan, MD, PhD, the associate director of the U.Va. Gamma Knife Center. “With the expanded indications and our desire to provide optimal care for our patients, Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ was the best choice to expand our neurosurgical armamentarium.”
Dr. Sheehan looks forward to the advantages offered to the hospital and patients with the enhanced features of the new system. “Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ offers unsurpassed dose planning capabilities and a streamlined work flow. The superb dose planning can lead to improved outcomes for Gamma Knife patients. The streamlined work flow will lead to shorter patient treatment times and increased patient satisfaction.”
Ladislau Steiner, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Neurosurgery and Radiology in the Department of Neurosurgery, and Director of the Lars Leksell Center for Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, at the University of Virginia Health System. This medical industry legend was a trusted associate of Professor Lars Leksell, inventor of Gamma Knife® surgery.
“The late Professor Leonard Malis, one of the best neurosurgeons of the century, wrote in the year 2000, ‘The Gamma Knife procedure has forced reluctant neurosurgeons to consider major changes in classic thinking about the proper care of many illnesses, including vascular malformations, cavernous sinus meningiomas and acoustic neurinomas.’ (Journal of Neurosurgery, Vol. 92/May 2000, page 894).
“After assessing the features and performance of Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™, I may paraphrase Malis, stating that the performance of Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ will force reluctant users of radiosurgery to recognize that the Gamma Knife® surgery has been, is, and remains the gold standard for radiosurgery,” concludes Dr. Steiner.
“The new unit represents the natural extension of Leksell’s original design and yet adheres to his principles of ‘simplicity’ and ‘elegance’,” adds Dr. Sheehan. “Leksell originally designed Leksell Gamma Knife® to treat deep seated lesions. Now, with Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™, we will have the capability of optimally treating even the most superficial of lesions. Moreover, Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ allows us to comfortably treat foramen magnum lesions and reach down to the lower cervical spine.”
“When one of the top teaching hospitals in the world is among the first to snap up an innovation to their proven treatment system, it sends a signal,” said Anthony DeCarolis, President and CEO of Elekta, Inc. and head of the U.S. operations of the Elekta Group. “They clearly understand the benefit to the patients, as well as to the clinic.”
In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a 510(k) pre-market clearance for Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™, allowing Elekta to market this innovative new system to the U.S. market.
About the University of Virginia Health System The University of Virginia Health System embodies the leadership and inventiveness that Thomas Jefferson, its founder, personified. U.Va. was the tenth medical school established in the United States. Over the past 176 years, the School of Medicine grew and developed into U.Va. Health System, a nationally renowned academic medical center committed to providing outstanding patient care, educating tomorrow's health care leaders and discovering better ways to treat diseases. About Elekta Elekta is an international medical-technology group, providing meaningful clinical solutions, comprehensive information systems and services for improved cancer care and management of brain disorders. All of Elekta’s solutions employ non-invasive or minimally invasive techniques and are therefore clinically effective, gentle on the patient and cost-effective.
Elekta’s systems and solutions are used at over 4,000 hospitals around the world to treat cancer and manage clinical operations as well as to diagnose and treat brain disorders, including tumors, vascular malformations and functional disorders.
With approx. 2,000 employees, Elekta’s corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden and the company is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange under the ticker EKTAb.
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