Elekta Sets New Benchmark for Cancer Treatment with Launch of Versa HD System

-- New flagship linear accelerator designed to deliver higher-quality radiation therapy for more patients, more cancer types

ATLANTA and STOCKHOLM, March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- During a live global event, Elekta announced the launch of Versa HD™, an advanced linear accelerator system designed to improve patient care and treat a broader spectrum of cancers. Featuring high precision beam shaping and tumor targeting, Versa HD also unveils new capabilities designed to maximize health care system resources and deliver highly sophisticated therapies without compromising treatment times.

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Versatility to deliver better treatments to more patients
Versa HD gives clinicians the flexibility to deliver conventional therapies to treat a wide range of tumors throughout the body, while also enabling treatment of highly complex cancers that require extreme targeting precision. As an integrated treatment system, Versa HD offers the versatility to address today's growing cancer management challenges.

"The well-being of increasing numbers of cancer patients worldwide inspired us to create Versa HD," says Elekta's President and CEO, Tomas Puusepp. "We strived to incorporate technologies that would provide an immediate impact to patient health and quality of life. As the pioneers of many of today's most advanced therapies, we are proud to introduce Versa HD as yet another market-leading innovation. Versa HD truly reflects the best thinking of Elekta's technical experts and our clinical partners."

Integrated with Elekta's recently-launched Agility™ 160-leaf multileaf collimator (MLC), Versa HD provides highly conformal beam shaping – a critical requirement for maximizing the dose to the target while also preserving surrounding healthy tissues. Importantly, this high targeting accuracy is available over a large field-of-view, permitting delivery of high-definition (HD) beams to a wide spectrum of complex targets. Historically, high-definition beam shaping often was mechanically limited to only small target therapies. Versa HD with Agility overcomes this challenge, now empowering clinicians to deliver extremely precise beam contouring for both small and large targets.

Unprecedented combination of High Dose Rate delivery and rapid MLC leaf speed
Capable of delivering radiation doses three times faster than previous generation Elekta linear accelerators, Versa HD harnesses the ultra-fast leaf speeds of Agility MLC. With this groundbreaking combination, clinicians can now, for the first time, take full advantage of higher dose rate delivery, potentially enabling even greater capabilities for sophisticated therapies, including stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT).

"Historically, MLC leaf speed has been a limiting factor in adopting high dose rate delivery. The leaves were often incapable of moving fast enough to provide advanced modulation with the increased dose rate," says Elekta's Kevin Brown, Global Vice President Scientific Research. "With Versa HD, clinicians can now take full advantage of high dose rate delivery, and provide highly exquisite conformance with much greater efficiency."

To reduce environmental impact and operating costs, Versa HD consumes up to 30 percent less energy than other delivery systems. Versa HD also debuts with modern ergonomics, including a more patient-friendly, softer and sleeker exterior, new user controls and ambient lighting effects.

For more information, visit www.VersaHD.com.

Versa HD is not available for sale or distribution in all markets. Elements of Versa HD are pending FDA 510(k) clearance.

For further information, please contact:
Johan Andersson Melbi, Director, Investor Relations, Elekta AB
Tel: +46-702-100-451, email: johan.anderssonmelbi@elekta.com  
Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Michelle Joiner, Director, Global Public Relations and Brand Management, Elekta
Tel: +1-770-670-2447, email: michelle.joiner@elekta.com
Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

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, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, 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.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,400 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. Website: www.elekta.com.