PALO ALTO, Calif., and CONCORD, Calif., Sept. 22 CA-Varian-Siemens-med
PALO ALTO, Calif., and CONCORD, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian
Medical Systems, the leading provider of radiation therapy solutions for
oncology care, and Siemens Healthcare, a world leading supplier of healthcare
solutions, today announced that the two companies will work together using
industry standard interfaces to connect Varian's ARIA(TM) Oncology Information
System and Siemens' syngo(R) Suite for Oncology.
"The ARIA system has always promoted an open architecture based on
industry standards like DICOM," says Corey Zankowski, senior director of
product management, referring to the "Digital Imaging and Communications in
Medicine" standards that are now used in most hospitals worldwide. "By
collaborating to connect our systems using DICOM, Varian and Siemens can
better support customers that use technology from both companies, and these
customers can take advantage of more integrated workflows and enhanced
interoperability with these solutions to adopt modern, advanced clinical
methods quickly and efficiently."
Furthermore, by adopting industry standards for integration, Varian and
Siemens customers are able to avoid investing in unnecessary interfaces that
require costly additional maintenance and modifications as technologies
evolve. Both companies are committed to the goals of the IHE-RO effort
(Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise - Radiation Oncology), initiated by the
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the
Radiological Society of America (RSNA) to standardize the communication
between oncology information systems and treatment delivery systems.
While the two companies work toward implementing a DICOM worklist-based
communication protocol, Siemens will use Varian's 4D Integrated Treatment
Console interface to connect their own radiotherapy treatment machines, which
include the ARTISTE(TM) Solution, and ONCOR(TM) and PRIMUS(TM) linear
accelerators with ARIA.
Dow Wilson, president of Varian Medical Systems' Oncology business
remarked, "We're pleased about the opportunity to work with Siemens on
standardized solutions for integrating information technology in order to
promote an open environment that helps to improve the cost efficiency and
affordability of cancer care. Ensuring interoperability with our market
leading ARIA Oncology Information System and Siemens syngo Suite for Oncology,
and improving workflow between our systems, will be a great benefit to the
oncology community."
"We need to encourage our industry to move towards the DICOM standard and
ensure that DICOM is utilized to its fullest potential," added Holger Schmidt,
CEO, Oncology Care Systems, Siemens Healthcare, "We are happy that both
Siemens and Varian are fully committed to implementing the DICOM standard
following the IHE-RO workflows. Siemens is very excited to work with Varian
on the interoperability between ARIA and Siemens' syngo Suite for Oncology and
help clinics maximize cost efficiencies."
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, proton therapy, 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 and digital detectors for
X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also
supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection.
Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 4,800 people who are located at
manufacturing sites in North America and Europe and in its 60 sales and
support offices around the world. For more information, visit
http://www.varian.com/ .
About Siemens Healthcare
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world's largest suppliers to
the healthcare industry. The company is a renowned medical solutions provider
with core competence and innovative strength in diagnostic and therapeutic
technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information
technology and system integration. With its laboratory diagnostics
acquisitions, Siemens Healthcare is the first integrated healthcare company,
bringing together imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy, and healthcare
information technology solutions, supplemented by consulting and support
services. Siemens Healthcare delivers solutions across the entire continuum of
care -- from prevention and early detection, to diagnosis, therapy and care.
Additionally, Siemens Healthcare is the global market leader in innovative
hearing instruments. The company employs more than 49,000 people worldwide and
operates in 130 countries. In the fiscal year 2007 (Sept. 30), Siemens
Healthcare reported sales of euro 9.85 billion, orders of euro 10.27 billion,
and group profit of euro 1.32 billion. Further information can be found by
visiting http://www.siemens.com/healthcare .
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Varian Medical Systems
Meryl Ginsberg
650-424-6444 or meryl.ginsberg@varian.com
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
Healthcare Sector - Workflow and Solutions Division
Media Relations: Tom Schaffner
610-448-1477 or thomas.schaffner@siemens.com
SOURCE Varian Medical Systems, Inc.
