Varian to supply linear accelerators as Bangladesh looks to upgrade cancer-fighting capabilities

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, March 8 - Varian Medical Systems said Wednesday that it has been selected to supply four linear accelerators to public hospitals in Bangladesh as the country's government embarks on a radical upgrade of cancer treatment capabilities.

Three of the Clinac linear accelerators will be installed at the National Institute of Cancer Research Hospital in Dhaka and the fourth cancer treatment machine is bound for the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, according to a company news release.

Up to now, there have only been two accelerators in the whole country, one at a Ministry of Defense hospital and one at a private center, both of them more than 10 years old, officials said.

"Bangladesh is a developing country and many of our people are poor, but there is a growing awareness of modern cancer treatments and many people have had to go to neighboring countries such as India for treatment," said Dr. Farhad Haleem, project director at the cancer hospital, in a news release. "These modern treatment machines will enable us to deliver more effective treatments for our patients."

He said that the three new linear accelerators will make it possible for his hospital to begin treating cancers with modern external beam radiotherapy. Up to now, the hospital has had to deliver radiotherapy treatments using dated cobalt machines that have limited capabilities.

Varian is a Palo Alto, Calif., supplier of equipment and software for treating cancer. The company also is a supplier of components including X-ray tubes and flat-panel detectors for medical, scientific and industrial imaging.

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