American Board of Radiology Foundation receives renewal grant from Varian Medical Systems for national brachytherapy registry

ATLANTA, Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ASTRO Booth #1115 -- The American Board of Radiology Foundation (ABRF) and Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today announce that Varian is awarding a $100,000 second year renewal grant to the ABRF, to continue its work establishing a national brachytherapy registry. The registry, which is the first such nationwide modality-based project in radiation oncology, is linked to the American Board of Radiology's (ABR's) Innovation Pathway in Maintenance of Certification (MOC) for Focused Practice Recognition of Brachytherapy.

"As we progress into the second year of active registry enrollment, we are now working on ways to report on the data being generated by the project," said Paul E. Wallner, DO, ABR associate executive director for radiation oncology and director, ABR Foundation. "This continued support from Varian will be instrumental in helping us continue our work on expanding the registry and finalizing our data-reporting processes."

"The ABRF greatly appreciates this generous donation from Varian Medical Systems," said Glenn S. Forbes, MD, chair of the ABRF Board of Directors. "This project aligns with the Foundation's overall mission of demonstrating, enhancing, and continuously improving accountability to the public in the safe and appropriate use of medical imaging and radiation therapy. It promises to greatly enrich our understanding of the use of brachytherapy."

The initiative is a voluntary component of the existing ABR Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program and is designed to allow ABR radiation oncology diplomates who are enrolled in MOC and active in brachytherapy practice to achieve an added credential that demonstrates their commitment to quality and safety, expertise, and volume of practice in that modality. Participants must meet the case-mix, data, and volume requirements, as well as additional medical education and self-assessment activities, as noted in detail on the ABR website (www.theabr.org/content/fp-brachy).

"The Focused Practice in Brachytherapy Initiative, made possible by the Varian grant, will have an important national impact on clinical case quality assurance and policy development in radiation oncology," said Wallner. "We believe this initiative will also raise the level of brachytherapy visibility, quality, research and training throughout the U.S."

"Varian is dedicated to the creation of tools and resources that enable the development of evidence-based treatment protocols," said Dee Khuntia, Varian's vice president of medical affairs. "We are delighted to assist the ABRF in expanding this brachytherapy registry, and identifying ways of making the collected data available to clinicians so that it can impact patient treatment."

Brachytherapy involves the delivery of radiation therapy through the placement of one or more tiny radioactive sources into a tumor or an area of the body where a tumor was surgically removed. The technique is designed to deliver a large dose of radiation to the area while sparing surrounding healthy tissue, sometimes as a primary treatment and sometimes as a boost to external beam radiotherapy treatments. The radioactive sources are placed in or near the tumor through catheters or rigid applicators.

The long-term vision of the American Board of Radiology Foundation (ABRF) is to address issues related to uses of medical imaging and radiation therapy and to benefit the public by being a convener and catalyst, as well as a knowledge resource. With a sole commitment to serve the public good and current or past senior leadership representation from every professional entity within the community of diagnostic radiology, radiation oncology, and medical physics, the ABRF provides a special opportunity to collaborate and form broad partnerships with public engagement directed toward issues of common interest.

About Varian Medical Systems

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes, digital detectors, and image processing workstations for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies high-energy X-ray devices for cargo screening and non-destructive testing applications. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 6,350 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and approximately 70 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com or follow us on Twitter.

Contact: Donna Breckenridge (ABRF)
Phone: 520-790-2900
E-mail: [email protected]  

Meryl Ginsberg (Varian)
Phone: 650-424-6444
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems

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