For immediate release

Date 28 September 2007

 

 

THE LONDON CLINIC TO INVEST IN UK’S FIRST
CYBERKNIFE® SYSTEM

 

The London Clinic, one of the UK’s leading independent hospitals, announced their agreement to  purchase a  CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System from Accuray Incorporated, making them the first UK independent hospital to invest in this state-of-the-art technology for cancer patients.

 

The Cyberknife® system is a robot that destroys cancer with high-dose beams of radiation in a process known as radiosurgery. The system is used to treat tumours anywhere in the body with pin-point precision. Using continual X-ray image guidance technology and computer controlled robotic mobility, the CyberKnife® System automatically tracks, detects and corrects for tumour and patient movement in real time throughout the treatment. This minimises damage to the surrounding healthy tissue and eliminates the need for invasive head or body stabilisation frames.  

 

According to Europe’s Institute of Cancer Research, more than a quarter of a million people were diagnosed with cancer in the United Kingdom in 2004. Prostate cancer and lung cancers make up 12 and 13 percent of those diagnosed cases respectively.

 

Malcolm Miller, Chief Executive of The London Clinic, adds: “As one of the UK’s most established hospitals, The London Clinic recognises the significant need for advanced cancer services in the UK. We are thrilled to now be able to offer a system with the precision and versatility that can best address the need of patients.”

 

Euan S. Thomson, PH.D, president and CEO of Accuray Incorporated, comments: “The London Clinic’s decision to expand its Cancer Centre to include radiosurgery anywhere in the body represents a major milestone for cancer patients throughout the UK.”

 

Other key advantages of the system for patients include the fact it offers pain free surgery which requires no anaesthesia and results in little to no side-effects. Furthermore, the outpatient procedure requires little or no recovery time, so it improves the quality of experience for patients both during and after treatment. In the United States, The CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System is the world’s only robotic radiosurgery system cleared by the FDA to treat tumors anywhere in the body non-invasively and with sub-millimeter accuracy.

 

To date, more than 35,000 patients worldwide have been treated by the CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System.

 

ENDS

 

For more information on the Cyberknife® system at The London Clinic

 

For more press information please contact:

 

The London Clinic Press Office:

 

Tracey Thompson/Jo Gulliver

+44 (0)20 8786 3860 / pressoffice@thelondonclinic.co.uk

 

Accuray Incorporated Press Office:

 

For Europe: Sancie Nakarat / snakarat@accuray.com / +33 6 81 36 84 34
For US: Stephanie Tomei / stomei@accuray.com / +1 408 789 4234

 

 

Notes to editors:

The London Clinic:

§         One of the UK’s most established independent hospitals

§         Located on Harley Street in the heart of London’s medical community

§         Long-standing international reputation attracting leading consultants

§         Highly complex procedures in addition to routine surgery and medicine

§         24 hour consultant-led Intensive Care Unit 

§         celebrating 75 years of inspired care – 1932-2007

 

 

Accuray Incorporated (Nasdaq: ARAY), based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a global leader in the field of radiosurgery dedicated to providing an improved quality of life and a non-surgical treatment option for those diagnosed with cancer. Accuray develops and markets the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, which extends the benefits of radiosurgery to include extracranial tumors, including those in the spine, lung, prostate, liver and pancreas. To date, there are currently more than 100 systems have been installed in leading hospitals in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.accuray.com/.