Elekta's New Modular Couchtop for Radiation Therapy Adapts to Unique Needs of Individual Patients

SCHWABMUNCHEN, Germany, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- Connexion features exchangeable modules to support wide scope of treatment requirements

Elekta's Connexion™ modular couchtop is CE marked and successfully released for sale in the European Union. Connexion meets the clinic's need to tailor patient set-up to accommodate the unique therapy requirements of the individual patient.

With a growing range of imaging and treatment techniques available, couchtops need to be able to support different approaches without compromising patient set-up. With its distinctive modular design, Connexion removes the restrictions of a single couchtop, allowing clinicians to adapt the couch to each patient's needs. The CE marking of Connexion enables clinics and hospitals in Europe to offer exceptional versatility in patient set-up when Elekta begins delivery of the couchtop.

Connexion allows clinics to maintain patient throughput with easily interchangeable, lightweight modules, providing seamless transition of the individual sections, which connect directly to a baseboard and a variety of extensions.

As a single solution, Connexion offers the following fully indexed modules:

• Imaging Module: Designed to address the needs of IGRT, IMRT and VMAT techniques, this module features low, homogenous beam attenuation properties.
• Lateral Opening Module: Designed for techniques that use oblique fields, such as SBRT, this module features additional clearance around the couchtop, providing extra flexibility in treatment set-up when needed.
• Central Opening Module: Enables the reduction of skin doses via a dedicated area where attenuation and dose build-up are minimized.
• Head and Neck Module: In accordance with Elekta's open system philosophy, this module supports head and neck immobilization, by providing a common interface to a wide range of immobilization solutions.

"The CE marking of Connexion is exciting for the entire Elekta team," says Chris Snook, Director, Elekta Product Supply Centre, Schwabmunchen, Germany. "Connexion represents the next generation of adaptable positioning solutions from Elekta, and is designed to help our customers improve treatment outcomes."

Learn more at: http://www.elekta.com/connexion.

*Connexion is not available for sale or distribution in all markets. Contact your Elekta representative for further details.

For further information, please contact:

Stina Thorman, Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +46-8-587-254-37, email: stina.thorman@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Michelle Lee 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 3,300 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. Website: http://www.elekta.com.