King Abdulaziz University Hospital becomes first Middle East center to use Elekta Versa HD cancer treatment system

Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) has made significant improvement in treating cancer patients with the implementation of Elekta's Versa HD radiotherapy system.

Versa HD is a single treatment delivery solution with the flexibility to deliver conventional therapies to treat a broad range of tumors throughout the body and enables the treatment of highly complex cancers that require extreme targeting precision

"As the cancer burden continues to grow in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and worldwide, we look forward to more hospitals using Elekta's cutting-edge technology to answer the Saudi patients' needs in the most accurate, comfortable, and cost-effective manner," Elekta Middle East Regional Sales Manager Mouhcine Chergou told Gulf News Journal.

As an integrated treatment system, Versa HD offers the versatility to address growing cancer management challenges. It provides a combination of high dose rate delivery and rapid multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf speeds along with improved system ergonomics and clinical packages to optimize patient setup, standardize the treatment process and enhance clinical utility.

"Elekta's Versa HD system is the culmination of years of research and development that provides clinicians with an extensive range of solutions in radiotherapy - from 3-D conformal treatment to advanced and ultra-precise stereotactic radiosurgery," Chergou  said. "KAUH, as a leader in cancer care in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), headed by Professor Yasir Bahadur and his team, were our perfect partner to implement this innovative technology in record time."

Elekta, with the help of Faisaliah Medical Systems, its partner in Saudi Arabia, has increased the number of its cancer treatment systems in Saudi Arabia from one to 12 in five years, a tremendous achievement that equipped Saudi oncologists with innovative tools in helping fight cancer in the kingdom.

Next week a panel of clinical experts from a reference university in Germany will spend a few days with KAUH clinicians giving a symposium on the technique and treatment of the most complex lung and brain tumors,  Chergou said.

"This is really exciting for our Saudi partners and their patients as it expands their horizons in cancer treatment," Chergou said.

With the implementation Versa HD in Saudi Arabia, Elekta, a Swedish-based human care company with a history of many decades of providing cutting-edge solutions to treat cancer, is trying to establish a commanding position in the fight against cancer in the Middle East countries.

"KSA is the first Middle East country to implement a Versa HD, with more to come regionally," Chergou said. "We are currently installing Versa HD systems at the world renowned Children's Hospital 57357 in Egypt and King Hamad (University) Hospital in Bahrain.”

“KSA, the GCC and the Middle East in general are full of clinicians that share our approach to fighting cancer and embracing values such as innovation, dynamism, and cooperation,” Chergou said. “We look forward to more such partnerships that will benefit the region's clinicians as well as the thousands of patients they treat every year."