Elekta Inaugurates new Radiation Therapy Training Center in South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Elekta inaugurated its advanced Elekta Training Center Cape Town, a collaboration between Elekta and Cape Town's Tygerberg Hospital and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Equipped with non-clinical Elekta systems for radiation therapy, brachytherapy, oncology information management and treatment planning, Elekta Training Center Cape Town is designed to train physicists, radiation oncologists, radiographers and neuroscience professionals from all African countries on Elekta's sophisticated radiotherapy solutions.

"The lack of clinicians and equipment-trained radiotherapy professionals in many African countries can impede the delivery of radiation therapy services," says Erik Leksell, Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa. "The training center will help address the problem of skilled care, both in South Africa and other parts of the continent as older systems are phased out and latest Elekta technology introduced. The burden of cancer in emerging health systems is alarming, therefore we are committed to making radiotherapy more accessible and continue to invest in training and education on the continent."

The training center will start its activities with eight to 10 courses per year, training students on treatment planning systems.

"The impact of cancer diagnoses is ever increasing on the African continent - in 10 years it will have doubled from 600,000 to over a million," says Prof. Hannah Simonds, Head of Radiation Oncology at Tygerberg Hospital. "With only 190 linear accelerators available, radiation services are extremely under resourced. Those of us in a position to provide teaching and training must take the lead in this rapidly developing field."

"We appreciate Elekta's focus on the importance of technical training, so for the company to establish the skills training laboratory in Cape Town is a real blessing to us," says Professor Dhiro Gihwala, Dean of the Faculty of Health & Wellness Sciences at CPUT. "Elekta is drawing from its experiences in Europe, the United States and elsewhere in the world with similar installations. Having access to advanced technology will give our students the confidence and competence they need to practice in modern treatment environments. The training center - with a physicist on hand - can contribute to producing graduates with greatly enhanced skill sets in both basic and advanced treatment planning."

About Elekta 

Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy, radiosurgery and brachytherapy, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both health care providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 6,000 hospitals worldwide. Elekta employs around 3,800 employees globally. The corporate headquarters is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker STO:EKTAB. Website: http://www.elekta.com.

For further information, please contact:
Gert van Santen, Group Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +31-653-561-242, e-mail: [email protected]
Time zone: CET: Central European Time

Raven Canzeri, Global Public Relations Manager, Elekta
Tel: +1-770-670-2524, e-mail: [email protected]
Time zone: ET: Eastern Time

SOURCE Elekta

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