Varian Medical Systems and Siemens Healthcare today announced they have partnered to provide image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery services that will offer new options for treatment to cancer centers around the world, according to a press release.
Both companies will mutually market and represent products for imaging and treatment in radiation oncology.
Radiation therapy is used to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. It is often used when chemotherapy is deemed too toxic or when radiation can more clearly pinpoint tumors.
This collaboration will also result in the development of software interfaces between Siemens and Varian treatment systems, according to the source, and the investigation of opportunities for joint development of new products for image-guided radiotherapy and radiosurgery.
Varian will represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products such as CT, PET/CT or MRI to radiation oncology clinics around the world, beginning immediately in most international markets and expanding to North America later this year. Siemens Healthcare will market Varian equipment and software for radiotherapy and radiosurgery to its healthcare customers, providing a comprehensive solution that includes clinical workflow from imaging to treatment.
Siemens said it will continue to service and support its global installed base of approximately 2,000 medical linear accelerators, but the agreement will now give Siemens customers more choices for therapy equipment, including Varian equipment, as aging accelerators come up for replacement.
The two companies also announced they will develop interfaces that will enable connecting Varian's ARIA oncology information system software to Siemens’ accelerators and imaging, allowing them to co-develop and offer new imaging and treatment solutions to cancer treatment centers.
Scanning machines do age over time and older equipment can cause errors, so it’s a good marketing opportunity for these companies, as well as important for treatment centers, to have the best and newest equipment.
Edited by
Braden Becker
