Singapore, Aug 4, 2010: Accuray has received Shonin approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) to market CyberKnife G4 Robotic Radiosurgery System, used to treat tumors non-invasively anywhere in the body, inclusive of head and neck. This system will be marketed in Japan as the "CyberKnife Radiosurgery System."
According to the company, CyberKnife G4 System will provide Japanese patients with some of the latest advances in CyberKnife technology including:
- Motion management technology to correct for tumor motion including a lung tracking system, which eliminates the need for fiducials in many lung cases;
- Hardware and software enhancements that enable up to 50 percent reduction in treatment time;
- Customized treatment plans dictated by clinical requirements and objectives;
- Flexibility to adapt the fractionation scheme to meet the unique needs of each patient simply and conveniently in routine clinical practice.
In June 2008, Accuray was granted Shonin approval of the CyberKnife System for use in Japan in the treatment of extracranial tumors, including tumors that move with respiration. This regulatory approval dramatically expanded the types of Japanese patients that could be treated with radiosurgery to include those with cancers of the spine, lung, liver, pancreas and prostate.
"This is an important milestone for Accuray as we continue our journey to expand the global footprint of our best-in-class radiosurgery treatment, the CyberKnife System," said Dr Euan S Thomson, CEO of Accuray. "With the availability of these capabilities, we anticipate enhanced interest in the acquisition of CyberKnife technology and we will work closely with our Japanese regional office in Tokyo to enable quick adoption of the CyberKnife G4 System throughout Japan."
The CyberKnife System is said to offer cancer patients worldwide a pain-free, non-invasive alternative to surgery. In 1996 the CyberKnife System was first approved in Japan to treat tumors in the head and neck. With 21 CyberKnife Systems installed throughout Japan, it is the second largest installed base of CyberKnife Systems after the United States.
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