SENEFFE, Belgium, September 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG announces its support of the brachytherapy program at Saint John Regional Hospital, Saint John, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, which is part of the Horizon Health Network.

The Adult Oncology Centre at Saint John Regional Hospital, employing five Radiation Oncologists and two Medical Oncologists, has been designated as a tertiary centre for Radiation Oncology and is at the forefront of multidisciplinary cancer care in the province.

"Brachytherapy is an established technique commonly used as a boost in combination with other cancer therapies as well as a monotherapy. In the past, we had to send our patients to other hospitals to receive brachytherapy treatments. With our new high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy program supported by Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG, we will be able to offer convenient access to an additional clinical option for our cancer patients." states Dr. Holly Campbell, Radiation Oncologist.

The medical devices made available for the program by Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG included the state-of-the-art MultiSource® HDR afterloader. The system is in use in medical facilities in almost 40 countries worldwide and offers exclusive features like the fully integrated In-Vivo Dosimetry for real time dose monitoring. This feature along with the automatic catheter length measurement and the precise source position check underline the afterloader´s reputation of enabling for a high level of accuracy. Furthermore, the MultiSource® HDR afterloader runs with either an Iridium-192 or a particularly cost-effective Cobalt-60 source.

Additionally, the Saint John Regional Hospital is using the treatment planning software HDRplus™ 3.0. The software supports all HDR applications, including intracavitary, interstitial, intraluminal as well as intraoperative treatments by offering a complete applicator database, automatic applicator reconstruction, automatic image fusion and the integrated Prostate Module.

"We are proud to have the opportunity together with our Canadian distributor CSP Medical, a leading North American medical device distributor, to support Saint John Regional Hospital with our first afterloader installation in Canada along with the corresponding HDR treatment planning software and a variety of applicators." states Abel Luzuriaga, Managing Director of Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG. "With more than 10 years in use in various medical facilities, our MultiSource® system has proven a high level of effectivity and reliability. Thereby, custom-tailored support and quality 'Made in Germany' are just two of our company principles."

The first HDR brachytherapy patient at the Saint John Regional Hospital already completed treatment. Dr. Jon Dysart, Medical Physicist in the 444-bed hospital, explains: "Since in the beginning of the program, we are focusing on gynaecological HDR brachytherapy, our first treatment carried out was a gynaecological therapy with a vaginal cylinder. In the near future, we will also offer HDR brachytherapy for a full range of clinical cases. We have been given strong support and guidance throughout the installation, commissioning and applications training by Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG and CSP Medical prior to initiating the clinical program. With this support we were able to initiate our planned brachytherapy program quickly and are looking forward to extend it soon."

For more information regarding the MultiSource® system, please see http://www.bebig.eu/home/products/hdr-brachytherapy.html

About the Horizon Health Network

Horizon Health Network is the largest health-care organization in Atlantic Canada serving New Brunswick, northern Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It operates more than 100 facilities including hospitals, community health centres & clinics, Addiction Services, Mental Health services, Public Health and Extra Mural Program.

With approximately 1,000 physicians, an annual operating budget exceeding C$ 1 billion and over 13,000 staff, Horizon Health Network plays a major role in research, innovation, education and health and wellness.

About Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG

Contributing to saving lives!

Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG is a European-based group active in the medical device segment of the health care industry. Its core business is the treatment of cancer using brachytherapy, a special form of radiation therapy. Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG is a leader in brachytherapy in Europe. The company headquarters are in Belgium, with R&D and production facilities in Germany and subsidiaries throughout Europe, in India and Brazil. In addition, Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG has a worldwide network of distributors and agents to support the international marketing of its product line. The company's products and equipment are intended for use by oncologists, radiologists, urologists, and medical physicists. Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG employs more than 150 people. The company has been listed on the Euronext stock exchange since April 1997.

Contact:
Claudia Wolf
Head of Marketing
Tel: +49-30-94-10-84-272 
marketing@bebig.eu

SOURCE Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG GmbH