Medical Device Company Intelligence Reports provide a full review of the company's activities, from its origins to its latest corporate activity, including mergers and acquisitions, agreements, divestitures, major purchasing contracts and litigation. Sections are included on products, international activities and R&D, as well as a full, in-depth five year financial analysis. An introduction to each report and a full table of contents is provided for review. More than 60 Medical Device Company Intelligence Reports are currently available. Varian Medical Systems (VMS), headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA, designs and manufactures integrated equipment and software for treating cancer with radiation therapy, as well as radiosurgery and brachytherapy products, X-ray tubes for original equipment manufacturers, replacement X-ray tubes and flat panel imaging detectors. The company also offers a range of products for the industrial and non-destructive testing markets which are not covered by this profile.

VMS has manufacturing facilities in the US, Switzerland, France, the UK, Finland, Germany, Japan and Canada. The company is also building a new plant in Beijing, China, to manufacture linear accelerators and has recently expanded manufacturing capacity in the US for its X-ray products business.

VMS' medical products are classified into three categories: Oncology Systems, X-ray Products and Other, including the Security and Inspection Products (SIP) business and the Ginzton Technology Center (GTC). At the beginning of fiscal 2006, VMS separated SIP from Oncology Systems and reported it with GTC under the Other category. Concurrently, it moved the brachytherapy unit from the Other category to Oncology Systems.

The Oncology Systems segment is VMS' largest, accounting for 83% of the company's revenue in fiscal 2006, while the X-ray Products unit generated 14% of sales and Other revenue accounted for 4%. Of the company's 3,900 employees in fiscal 2006, 2,983 were based in the Oncology Systems division and 564 at X-ray Products.

VMS' main focus and the area for which it is best known is its radiation oncology products. The company is the world's leading supplier of radiotherapy systems for treating cancer. There are more than 6,100 radiotherapy centres worldwide and VMS equips nearly half of these with its products. The company believes there are over 4,750 of its Clinac and Trilogy medical linear accelerators and Acuity treatment planning, simulation and verification systems in service around the world, treating thousands of cancer patients each day.

The Oncology Systems unit offers linear accelerators, treatment simulation and verification products, information management and treatment planning software, brachytherapy products, software, accessories and services. These products enable radiation oncology departments to perform conventional radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiotherapy, as well brachytherapy. The division's current growth is coming from demand for the latest oncology technology, IGRT, which can be conducted using VMS' On-Board Imager (OBI) device. The adoption of VMS' IGRT products is occurring three times faster than the company experienced with the introduction of IMRT earlier this decade, and this growth is particularly strong in the US.

In January 2005, VMS formed Varian Surgical Sciences, an organisation within the Oncology Systems unit focused on the use of the company's imaging and treatment technologies for image-guided radiosurgery. The organisation markets products built around the Trilogy linear accelerator and OBI device. In addition, a dedicated image-guided radiosurgery system, Trilogy Tx, was launched in May 2006.

VMS' X-ray Products unit offers X-ray tubes for use in computed tomography (CT), radioscopic/fluoroscopic imaging, mammography, special procedures and industrial applications, and flat panel detectors for digital X-ray image capture. The products are sold to large OEMs that incorporate the components and subsystems into their medical and industrial imaging systems. The X-ray tubes are also sold directly to end-users for replacement purposes, while the flat panel detectors are also incorporated into VMS' IGRT products. After years of investment in flat panel technology, these products have become a significant contributor to VMS' X-ray Products segment and are expected to become its main revenue source within a few years, overtaking sales of X-ray tubes. However, due to the strong demand, VMS experienced production capacity issues which limited sales in 2006. It is currently increasing its manufacturing operations to overcome this problem.

VMS' SIP unit offers Linatron X-ray accelerators for security and inspection purposes, while the GTC develops technologies to enhance VMS' current businesses or to lead to new areas, including next-generation digital X-ray imaging, volumetric and functional imaging, new X-ray sources and technology for security and cargo screening. GTC also develops technologies to improve disease management by the more precise targeting of radiation, as well as by employing targeted energy and molecular agents to enhance the effectiveness and broaden the application of radiation therapy.

In addition, VMS has recently acquired ACCEL Instruments GmbH, a privately-held supplier of proton therapy systems for cancer treatment and scientific research instruments. ACCEL, based in Bergisch Gladbach near Cologne, Germany, has annual sales of around US$25 million. The acquisition will enable VMS to offer products for delivering image-guided, intensity-modulated proton therapy for cancer patients. According to the company, customers have begun to ask for proton therapy capabilities that supplement their existing radiotherapy systems. The transaction will enable VMS to do this, and also leverages its existing technology in treatment planning, image guidance and cancer informatics. The company believes it can build a several hundred million dollar proton therapy business over time.