Elekta : Parkinson’s disease patients are first to be treated with Elekta’s New Leksell Vantage Stereotactic System

Clinicians report improved surgical workflow, patient comfort and accuracy in stereotactic imaging and treatment

Elekta (EKTA-B.ST) today announced that its Leksell Vantage™ Stereotactic System is now in clinical use at three European centers. The first surgeries were performed on a patient with Parkinson's disease at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square (London, England) and a patient with Parkinson's disease at Karolinska University Hospital (Stockholm, Sweden). Both sites have now treated several patients.

Subsequent to these first two procedures, Academisch Medisch Centrum (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) has also initiated clinical use of Vantage. Additionally, Hopital La Timone (Marseille, France) has completed training on Vantage and is commencing system utilization.

Leksell Vantage is Elekta's next-generation system for target localization and coordinate referencing during stereotactic neurosurgical procedures. Both patients were successfully implanted with deep brain stimulation electrodes, a procedure that requires precision targeting.

Stereotactic neurosurgery is a minimally-invasive approach to precisely localize and treat specific regions in the brain while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. This surgery has been used successfully for decades to treat a variety of brain and neurologic conditions, including brain cancer, non-malignant tumors, essential tremor and Parkinson's disease. Stereotactic neurosurgery is also used to make small controlled lesions of brain pathologies or to facilitate drug delivery to regions of the brain that are challenging to access. Immobilization of the patient's head during neuroimaging and subsequent neurosurgical procedures is essential for accurate targeting and optimal clinical safety and efficacy.

Leksell Vantage Stereotactic System was designed with the patient in mind and to meet the most exacting demands of today's clinicians, enabling a smooth workflow and offering a range of benefits, including shorter treatment times, non-metallic MRI-compatible accessories, intuitive setup and workflow enhancements.

'Our first experiences with the Leksell Vantage Stereotactic System indicate the potential for obtaining images with more anatomical detail,' said Ludvic Zrinzo, MD, PhD, FRCS, Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Neurosurgery at National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London. 'The 'open face' design is an advantage in both awake and asleep surgery and the updated design provides a more patient and user-friendly system.'

Prof. Lars Leksell, the founder of Elekta, developed his innovative center-of-arc-based stereotactic system during his tenure as professor and chairman of neurosurgery at Karolinska University Hospital. This system ultimately evolved into a user-friendly and world-renowned stereotactic system that has helped improve the care and outcomes for patients around the world.

'Elekta is proud to report that the first successful surgeries with the Leksell Vantage System have been performed at these prestigious and experienced centers of neurosurgery. Vantage is the most current representation of our legacy of innovation and it reflects our ongoing commitment to working closely with clinicians to develop devices and software that enable them to provide optimal care to all their patients,' said Jesper Söderqvist, Vice President Neuro Portfolio at Elekta.

For more information about Leksell Vantage, stop by Elekta booth 11-13 at the 17th Quadrennial Meeting of the World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (WSSFN) or visit www.elekta.com/Vantage.

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