Varian Medical Systems and Hospital de Câncer de Barretos (HCB) in Brazil announced that they have entered into a long-term agreement encompassing the deployment of advanced technology for treating cancer as well as the establishment of a clinical training program at the hospital.

HCB will acquire four new radiotherapy treatment systems representing the full spectrum of Varian’s technology offerings.

A TrueBeam, Trilogy, Clinac, and UNIQUE radiotherapy system will be installed over a two year period. The hospital will also upgrade its suite of Varian software, including Eclipse and BrachyVision for treatment planning and ARIA for managing oncology information.

"With these systems, Barretos will be fully equipped to provide a full range of radiotherapy and radiosurgery modalities, so that we can offer the most appropriate treatments for different types of cancer," said Dr. Renato José Affonso Junior, radiation oncologist at the hospital and vice president of the Brazilian Society of Radiation Oncology. "

"Using these systems we will be able to offer high-dose-rate 3D brachytherapy, 3-D conformal treatments, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), RapidArc, and radiosurgery for treating even very small lesions with tremendous precision."

Varian will also work with the HCB clinical team to establish a clinical school at the hospital, to train clinicians from across Brazil and other countries in Latin America on the use of Varian technology to deliver advanced radiotherapy.

The clinical school will be outfitted with a VERT virtual simulation and training system that enables doctors, physicists, dosimetrists, and radiation therapists to learn and practice planning and delivering a full range of treatment techniques.

"Our intention is to become a reference center for RapidArc treatment and training within two years," said Dr. Henrique Duarte Prata, chief executive officer at HCB.