ELEKTA USERS FIRST TO TREAT PATIENTS WITH VOLUMETRIC INTENSITY MODULATED ARC THERAPY (VMAT)

ELEKTA USERS FIRST TO TREAT PATIENTS WITH VOLUMETRIC INTENSITY MODULATED ARC
THERAPY (VMAT)


Press Release 
Stockholm, Sweden, February 7, 2008

The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton UK and Allgemeines KrankenHaus / Medical
University of Vienna in Austria have successfully completed the world's first
image guided intensity modulated arc therapy patient treatments using
commercially released product solutions.

The Royal Marsden Hospital pioneered clinical use of an Elekta Synergy® image
guided system fitted with the new Elekta linear accelerator control system in
order to deliver volumetric intensity modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to a patient
undergoing a course of radiation therapy treatment for lung cancer. 

“On Monday 28th of January we treated our first patient with the VMAT
(Volumetric intensity Modulated Arc Therapy) technique” reports Jim Warrington,
Head of Radiotherapy Physics at the Royal Marsden. “The patient received a
single 340 degree arc of 6MV x-rays, with simultaneously variable gantry
rotation speed, dose rate and dynamic multi-leaf collimator modulation. The
treatment arc delivered a 2 Gray fraction to the target in 93 seconds.” He
continued: “the efficiency and flexibility of this technique is impressive and
we hope to be able to expand the use of this advanced new treatment method to
become routine practice in the future. We anticipate that when used in
conjunction with our Elekta Synergy image guidance systems and employing
non-coplanar angles of delivery, VMAT will be a significantly improved treatment
modality for the Royal Marsden's radiotherapy patients”, he concludes.

More conformal treatments and reduced treatment time

The two main benefits of this unique Elekta technology promise to be significant
reduction in treatment time (in the case of the Royal Marsden treatment, 50
percent from the patient's previous conformal plan) combined with a significant
improvement in conformance to the target and sparing of dose to adjacent healthy
tissues. An additional benefit of reducing treatment times is greater comfort
for the patient which in turn, by making it easier for the patient to keep
still, increases the likelihood of delivering radiation beams more accurately as
targeted.

During the same week, Allgemeines KrankenHaus / Medical University of Vienna
(AKH) in Austria delivered the world's first PreciseBEAM VMAT treatment.
PreciseBEAM VMAT is delivered as a combination of optimized treatment planning
using Ergo++ and an Elekta Synergy linear accelerator, upgraded with a next
generation digital control system. 

The treatment was to an intracranial glioblastoma and consisted of 3
non-coplanar VMAT arcs with variable gantry speed and simultaneous leaf movement
and rotation of the dynamic multileaf collimator. The Elekta accelerators are
unique in their ability to deliver this level of movement complexity. The
patient had a brain lesion very close to vital structures such as hypophisys,
brain stem, optical nerves, and lenses of the eyes, however the treatment was
completed within 10 minutes - including set-up, imaging, repositioning and
delivery.

“The new system will revolutionize the practice of tailored intensity modulated
radiotherapy during the next decade”, commented Prof. Dr. Richard Pötter, the
Chief Medical Doctor at AKH. “Very soon not only head and neck lesions but also
tumors in the lung, close to the cervical spine and in the pelvis will be
treated with VMAT.”

“For many years AKH has been practicing a technique called IMRT. The new
technique VMAT adds the possibility of modulating the radiation intensity during
an arc treatment. The advantage is an even better sparring of healthy organs and
a more effective and better targeted irradiation of the tumor. At the same time
the total treatment time is significantly reduced from 15 minutes to 6 - 7
minutes which is of highest importance for patients with serious diseases”
continues Prof. Dr. Pötter.

Referring to their first patient treatment, Prof. Dr. Dietmar Georg, Chief
Medical Physicist at AKH continues, “This therapy will currently be applied in
very complex situations where the localization and the form of the tumor
requires tailored intensity modulated treatment. Not every patient will be an
appropriate candidate for this novel therapy, but we will work hard to
investigate how we can make more use of this new treatment technique.”

Digitally controlled system is key

“On top of improving the utilization of existing radiotherapy equipment with the
potential to reduce waiting lists for treatment, the improved conformance gives
physicians the opportunity to either reduce the likelihood of unwanted
side-effects at previously prescribed doses or increase the dose to the tumor
whilst maintaining existing side-effect profiles - which in turn could lead to
improved treatment outcomes”, explains Olof Sandén, Executive Vice President
Europe at Elekta. “These innovations are available as upgrade packages for
existing Elekta accelerators and we are justifiably proud to have introduced
both the world's first linear accelerator with integrated 3D imaging at the time
of treatment and to be able to fully exploit the benefits that technology offers
through introducing the world's first accelerator capable of delivering VMAT.”

“Nearly ten years of research in collaboration with members of the Elekta IMRT
Consortium has lead to this unique series of innovations”, explains Dee
Mathieson, Elekta Business Area Manager, Oncology. “We started by setting
ourselves the objective of removing the technical limitations presented by
existing technology to give physicians ultimate flexibility in the planning of
radiation therapy treatments. The real challenge was to achieve this level of
freedom using existing treatment machines already installed in hospitals today.
Having already developed the worlds only fully digital accelerator proved to be
a key element in making this level of automation and control complexity possible
in a way that allows clinicians to deliver advanced treatments with a single
push of a button.” she concludes.


[VMAT capability is CE marked as part of the new linear accelerator control
system and may require additional regulatory clearances for sale in other
regions of the world. Potential customers should contact their local Elekta
office for further details.]

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For further information, please contact:


Investor Enquiries:
Peter Ejemyr, Group VP Corporate Communications.
Tel: +46 733 611 000 (mobile), e-mail: peter.ejemyr@elekta.com

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Peter J. Gaccione, Vice President, Global Marketing
Tel: +1 770 670 2380, email: peter.gaccione@elekta.com

Product Enquiries Europe, Asia & South America:
David Gosnell, Oncology Product Launch Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 1293 654729, e-mail: david.gosnell@elekta.com

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Michelle Lee, PR and Advertising Manager
Tel: +1 770-670-2447, email: michelle.lee@elekta.com

Media Enquiries Europe, Asia & South America:
Joanne Latimer, Healthcare Communications Specialist
Tel: +44 (0) 1293 654729 , e-mail: joanne.latimer@elekta.com

About Elekta

Elekta is an international medical technology group, providing oncologists,
radiation therapists, neurosurgeons and many other medical specialists with
state of the art tools to fight serious disease.

Elekta provides advanced clinical solutions, comprehensive management and
information systems as well as services for improved cancer care and management
of brain disorders. 

Elekta's systems and solutions are used in over 4,500 hospitals around the
world. Clinical and information management solutions include, among others,
Leksell Gamma Knife® for non-invasive treatment of brain disorders, Elekta
Axesse™ and Elekta Synergy® for stereotactic and image guided radiation therapy
and radiosurgery as well as the MOSAIQ™ suite of software for image-enabled EMR
and efficient management of clinical and patient data.

With over 2,000 employees globally, the corporate headquarter is located in
Stockholm, Sweden and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the
ticker EKTAb. More information about Elekta can be found at www.elekta.com.