Elekta's Versa HD starts treating patients in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz University Hospital has begun treating patients with a wide range of cancers using Elekta's Versa HD radiotherapy system, the first to be installed in the Middle East, the company said.

Versa HD comes equipped with the firm's Agility beam-shaping tool for high-precision radiotherapy, and a high-dose-rate mode to reduce beam delivery time, Elekta said.

For now, most treatments at the hospital are performed using volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), which delivers radiation therapy in one or more uninterrupted arcs, the company said. But as they gain experience, clinicians will begin stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatments in the next few weeks.

Since the first patient was treated in November 2015, approximately 70 patients have been treated with the system.