May 6 2010  |  Press Release 

El Camino Hospital’s New Radiation Oncology Center to Serve as West Coast Center of Excellence for HDR Brachytherapy  

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (May 06, 2010)—Nucletron, a knowledge-based leader in radiation oncology, today announced the designation of Silicon Valley’s El Camino Hospital as its first western U.S. Center of Excellence. Opening on May 3, the new Center for Advanced Radiotherapy and Cyberknife Radiosurgery and training facility at El Camino Hospital is outfitted with the most advanced High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy technology available and is operated in partnership with Western Radiology Oncology Associates.

Brachytherapy is a very precise and effective form of radiotherapy used in the treatment of cancer.  Since radiation is delivered directly to the cancer site, brachytherapy treatment reduces the risk of unnecessary damage to surrounding healthy tissue and organs, delivers the required dose of radiation over a reduced period of time, and minimizes disruption to patients allowing a faster return to everyday life.  

As a designated Center of Excellence, El Camino Hospital’s Center for Advanced Radiotherapy and Cyberknife Radiosurgery will welcome medical physicists and radiation oncologists from North America, Asia and Latin America. Led by Western Radiology Oncology Associates, clinical participants will have access to peer-to-peer training programs based on clinical best practices, under the guidance of internationally renowned brachytherapy instructors. Rakesh Patel, M.D., a pioneer in the field of brachytherapy and president of the American Brachytherapy Society, will be leading the clinical faculty. The Center of Excellence provides year-round opportunities for clinicians to adopt new and innovative brachytherapy technologies.

“The new radiation oncology center at El Camino Hospital, recently ranked the most technologically advanced hospital in the United States by Popular Science magazine, will offer clinicians unique training opportunities in HDR brachytherapy not available elsewhere,” said Dr. Shyamali Singhal, medical director of the Cancer Center at El Camino Hospital. “Nucletron’s treatment delivery and treatment planning solutions, and Western Radiation Oncology’s clinical leadership and expertise enable our team to provide cancer patients with the most advanced treatment options available for certain cancers.”

“The Center of Excellence at the El Camino Hospital Center for Advanced Radiotherapy and Cyberknife Radiosurgery provides unique and much needed training opportunities for clinicians in North America and from around the world.  These will help them significantly expand and deepen their brachytherapy skills,” said Dr. Patel.   “Western Radiation Oncology is very pleased to take the lead in educating other clinicians on best practices in brachytherapy in partnership with El Camino Hospital and Nucletron.” 

The new radiation oncology center at El Camino Hospital Center has been equipped with Nucletron’s microSelectron® Digital Afterloader and Oncentra® Brachy, the world’s first fully DICOM-compatible treatment planning solution for brachytherapy. Patients undergoing treatment for breast, gynecologic, and skin cancers will now have access to HDR brachytherapy treatment.  

“Our partnership with El Camino Hospital and Western Radiation Oncology will enable clinical teams in North America, Latin America and Asia/Pacific to accelerate the transition to the latest treatment options through access to training at the new Center of Excellence,” said Bill Dowd, vice president of North America with Nucletron. “Nucletron is pleased to be working with the expert clinical team at El Camino Hospital and Western Radiation Oncology to improve patient care by lowering the barriers for centers to adopt brachytherapy.”

The new radiation oncology center at El Camino Hospital opened on May 3, 2010. Please contact Danielle Davis at 443-834-6725 or ddavis@rosecomm.com to schedule a visit or request photography. 

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About Nucletron
Nucletron provides state of the art radiotherapy solutions for cancer treatment that meet the evolving needs of patients, their caregivers and healthcare professionals around the world.  Nucletron has unmatched global leadership in brachytherapy, a very precise, highly effective and well-tolerated treatment option for healthcare providers, tailored to the needs of individual patients. We work with clinical teams to constantly improve and develop an innovative portfolio of integrated products, software and services that assures excellent patient outcomes.  Headquartered in Veenendaal, The Netherlands, Nucletron employs more than 500 employees, with offices in 15 countries, and products available in more than 100 countries around the world.  Please visit http://www.nucletron.com/  to learn more about our healthcare solutions.

About El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital is an acute care, 542-bed, not-for-profit and locally-governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, California.  In addition to a state-of-the-art emergency department, key medical specialty focuses include cancer care, heart and vascular, neuroscience, genomic medicine, orthopedic and spine and women’s health.

El Camino Hospital has delivered the highest level of medical services to the communities of Silicon Valley for more than four decades. The hospital is also recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology to promote patient safety, including computerized order entry, electronic medical records and wireless communications.

El Camino Hospital has been recognized for its clinical excellence with awards such as: Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Center; ANCC Magnet Recognition for Nursing Care and Bay Area Parent Magazine’s Award for Best Hospital or Clinic. 

To learn more about El Camino Hospital, the services it provides in Mountain View and Los Gatos, and its commitment to doing “Whatever it Takes” to provide the best and safest patient care, visit our Web site at http://www.elcaminohospital.org/. For a physician referral, visit our Web site or call the El Camino Health Line at 800-216-5556.

About Western Radiation Oncology Associates
WRO is an innovative physician group focused on improving quality and access to advanced, targeted radiation therapy.  Coupling state-of-the-art technology with leading clinical expertise, WRO has built the top programs throughout the Bay area for LDR and HDR brachytherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and intensity-modulated, image-guided radiation therapy (IMRT/IGRT). 

About Brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a high-precision radiation therapy, in which the radiation source used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors is placed in or close to the tumor itself. Brachytherapy offers a precise, highly effective and well tolerated treatment option tailored to the needs of individual patients. The precision brachytherapy approach allows a physician to concentrate a high dose of radiation in a small area, minimizing damage to nearby, healthy body tissue and organs, over a shorter treatment period.  For more information, please visit http://www.aboutbrachytherapy.com/.