Varian Medical Systems is an American radiation
oncology treatments and software maker based in
Palo Alto, California. Their medical devices include
linear accelerators (LINACs) and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with
radiotherapy,
radiosurgery,
proton therapy
In medicine, proton therapy, or proton radiotherapy, is a type of particle therapy that uses a beam of protons to irradiate diseased tissue, most often to treat cancer. The chief advantage of proton therapy over other types of external beam ra ...
, and
brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. ''Brachy'' is Greek for short. Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, pro ...
. The company supplies software for managing cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers, and medical oncology practices. Varian Medical Systems employs more than 7,100 people
at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and approximately 70 sites globally.
In August 2020,
Siemens Healthineers
Siemens Healthineers AG (formerly Siemens Healthcare, Siemens Medical Solutions, Siemens Medical Systems) is a German medical device company. It is the parent company for several medical technology companies and is headquartered in Erlangen, Ger ...
announced plans to acquire Varian for $16.4 billion. The deal was completed on April 15, 2021. After the merger it will continue to operate independently and will retain its headquarters along with its 10,000 employees.
History
Varian was founded in 1948 as
Varian Associates by
Russell H. Varian,
Sigurd F. Varian,
William Webster Hansen
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
, and
Edward Ginzton
Edward Leonard Ginzton (December 27, 1915 – August 13, 1998) was a Ukrainian- American engineer.
Education
Ginzton completed his B.S. (1936) and M.S. (1937) in Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and his P ...
to sell the
Klystron, the first tube which could generate electromagnetic waves at microwave frequencies, and other electromagnetic equipment.
By 1999, Varian Associates had branched into
semiconductor,
vacuum tube, and medical device fields. On April 2, 1999 these divisions split to become
Varian Semiconductor
Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. was a supplier of ion implantation equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. Varian Semiconductor was founded in 1971 as Extrion Corporation in Peabody, Massachusetts. Extrion later ...
,
Varian, Inc. and Varian Medical Systems.
In August 2020,
Siemens Healthineers AG announced that it plans to acquire Varian Medical Systems in an all-stock deal valued at $16.4 billion. The deal was approved and completed on 15 April 2021. After the merger Varian will continue to operate independently and will retain its headquarters along with its 10,000 employees.
Acquired companies
Varian Medical Systems has acquired other companies including Pan-Pacific Enterprises, ACCEL Instruments, Bio-Imaging Research, Inc. Sigma Micro Informatique Conseil, Argus Software, Dosetek Oy, Velocity Medical Solutions. and MeVis Medical Solutions AG.
In January 2018, the company announced the acquisition of Sirtex Medical for $1.3 billion.
In 2019, the company acquired CyberHeart, a privately-held company with intellectual property (IP) that covers the use of radiation in the heart (cardiac radioablation) and other forms of radiosurgery for cardiovascular disease.
Spin-off companies
On January 30, 2017, spin-off of Varex Imaging Corporation (manufacturing of X-ray imaging products) from Varian Medical Systems had been successfully completed.
Products
Linear accelerators
Varian manufactures a range of
megavoltage
Megavoltage X-rays are produced by linear accelerators ("linacs") operating at voltages in excess of 1000 kV (1 MV) range, and therefore have an energy in the MeV range. The voltage in this case refers to the voltage used to accelerat ...
LINACs with varying levels of features and complexity, for example different numbers of
multileaf collimator
A multileaf collimator (MLC) is a Collimator or beam-limiting device that is made of individual "leaves" of a high atomic numbered material, usually tungsten, that can move independently in and out of the path of a radiotherapy beam in order to sh ...
s or the ability to perform
radiosurgery.
TrueBeam is a
radiotherapy system.
The EDGE
radiosurgery suite was launched in 2012. The first cancer centers to use the new system were the Champalimaud Foundation in
Lisbon,
Portugal and
Henry Ford Health System in
Detroit,
Michigan.
Halcyon
In 2017, Varian launched Halcyon. The system features unique dual-layer
MLC that enables high modulation with low leakage for every field or arc. Halcyon is advertised to be intuitive, friendly and comfortable for clinical staff and patient alike. This is primarily done by automating several functions typically performed manually by radiographers, such as switching between treatment beams automatically. Additionally, Halcyon also features an automated machine performance check for daily LINAC quality assurance, which can speed up the checking of beam constancy and mechanical performance through the use of a phantom.
However, while Halcyon does boast improved automation and workflow improvements which allow for faster patient treatment, these extra automation tasks can make occasionally make it more difficult for medical physicists to perform detailed Quality Assurance on LINAC performance. Nevertheless, automation in both quality assurance and clinical operation generally make the LINAC easier to operate by checkers and radiation therapists.
Proton Therapy
Varian manufactures the ProBeam Proton Therapy System, with current and planned installations at several sites globally. These are an all
pencil-beam scanning Pencil beam scanning is the practice of steering a beam of radiation or charged particles across an object. It is often used in proton therapy, to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure to surrounding non-cancerous cells.
Ionizing radiation
Ionizi ...
proton therapy system utilizing IMPT (intensity modulated proton therapy), which was developed with
PSI of Switzerland. Varian also develops
medical software
Medical software is any software item or system used within a medical context, such as:reducing the paperwork, tracking patient activity
* standalone software used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes;
* software embedded in a medical device (o ...
and
radiology information system for proton treatment planning system.
Ethos Therapy
On September 16, 2019, during the 2019 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting, being held Sept. 15-18 in Chicago, Varian announced Ethos therapy, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven holistic solution designed to increase the capability, flexibility and efficiency of radiotherapy. This new solution is designed to deliver an entire adaptive treatment in a typical 15-minute timeslot, from patient setup through treatment delivery.
Litigation
Defamation case law
In 1999, Varian Medical Systems, Inc. sued a former employee for
defamation after they posted numerous messages criticizing the company on the Internet. The lawsuit led to the ruling of ''
Varian v. Delfino'' by the
California Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sac ...
on the question whether a trial could proceed while denial of the defendant's
anti-SLAPP
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with t ...
motion was under appeal. After the state supreme court ruled that a new trial would be necessary because of that technical concern, the case was settled on undisclosed terms.
University of Pittsburgh
On April 25, 2012, a
US federal judge in
Pittsburgh awarded attorney fees, costs, and doubled damages totaling $73.6 million to the
University of Pittsburgh after the university won a suit on medical patent infringement grounds against Varian.
References
External links
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Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Companies based in Palo Alto, California
Health care companies based in California
American companies established in 1948
Health care companies established in 1948
Medical technology companies of the United States
Private providers of NHS services
2021 mergers and acquisitions
Siemens
American subsidiaries of foreign companies