Varian Medical Systems is the world's leading manufacturer of medical technology for treating cancer with radiotherapy and neurological conditions with radiosurgery. The company provides technology, applications support, educational services, and worldwide medical equipment service for its products.

Varian also supplies high-energy radiation equipment for a variety of industrial radiation, defense, and scientific applications. The company's X-ray Products business is a premier supplier of X- ray tubes and digital X-ray image detectors for imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications.

Varian Oncology Systems

Varian Oncology Systems supplies integrated medical systems that include microwave electron medical linear accelerators for the treatment of cancer. These medical accelerators provide for X-ray beam therapy and electron beam therapies, including coventional radiotherapy, 3-D conformal radiotherapy, electronic compensation, time gated radiotherapy, (for example, real-time respiratory gating), intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).

These accelerators incorporate computer-controlled multi-leaf collimators (MLCs) that can be used in the step and shoot and multiple static segments modes as well as in the dynamic MLC mode (sliding window technique). Many also come equipped with the On-Board Imager device, a kV X-ray imager mounted on the linear accelerator via a pair of robotic arms, used for for patient registration, tumor volume and marker seed tracking, dynamic targeting, and cone-beam computed tomographic (cone-beam CT) imaging.

Varian's accelerators can also be equipped with amorphous silicon digital imaging systems for megavoltage portal imaging. These treatment machines can be fitted with stereotactic radiosurgery frames for a wide range of stereotactic treatments.

In addition, Oncology Systems provides a vast array of integrated radiation treatment products for radiation oncology. These products include radiotherapy treatment simulators, which can provide high-resolution digital radiotherapy simulation images, digital fluoroscopy, and cone-beam computed tomograpy imaging (CT imaging).

Oncology Systems provides the most advanced radiotherapy treatment planning software systems for both forward treatment planning and inverse treatment planning using radiation treatment planning optimization technology.

Oncology Systems’ VARiS® Vision and ARIA Oncology Information Systems are comprehensive data management and medical information systems for radiation and medical oncology departments. These systems provide third-party interfaces to other accelerators and simulators as well as interfaces to diagnostic imaging systems such as those for computed tomography image interfaces (CT image interfaces), magnetic resonance image interfaces (MRI image interfaces), and positron emission tomography image interfaces (PET image interfaces).

A special system called SomaVision allows for digital image manipulation and digital image processing optimized for oncologic imaging and treatment planning.

Oncology Systems also provides a very wide range of radiotherapy accessories, including treatment couch accessories, beam accessories (such as custom blocks and electron beam cut-outs made of low melting alloys for irregular electron fields that are used with the Varian electron applicators), and room laser alignment systems.

Finally, Varian's Oncology Systems business designs, manufactures, markets and supports products for brachytherapy, which involves treating cancer by placing radiation sources directly within or adjacent to tumor sites. An example is the use of radioactive seed implants for the treatment of prostate cancer. This includes both interstitial brachytherapy and intracavitary brachytherapy.

Varian offers the broadest range of products for treating cancer with high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy and low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy. Products include: the GammaMedPlus and VariSource remote afterloaders for delivering high dose rate brachytherapy treatments, VariSeed brachytherapy treatment planning software for use with prostate seed implants, and BrachyVision treatment planning software for high dose rate and low dose rate brachytherapy. Varian Medical Systems also provides a wide range of brachytherapy applicators and other brachytherapy accessories.

Varian Surgical Sciences

Varian Surgical Sciences produces technology for stereotactic radiosurgery and neurosurgery for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, offreing a clinically effective and more cost-efficient alternative to dedicated radiosurgical devices that are limited in functionality and flexibility.

These specialized linear accelerators can also be fitted with stereotactic radiosurgery frames for a wide range of stereotactic treatments, including the radiation treatment of brain lesions such as acoustic neuromas and AV malformations.

Industrial Accelerator Systems: Security and Inspection Group

The Varian Industrial Products/Security and Inspection Group is also part of Oncology Systems. This business provides a line of high-energy X-ray sources based on the Varian Linatron®, an industrial linear accelerator. Linatrons have been a mainstay for non-destructive testing (NDT) for nearly 40 years.

Applications include the X-ray inspection of large castings and weldments, special valves, nuclear power vessels, engine blocks, solid-fuel rocket motors, munitions, and nuclear warheads, among others. The Varian Linatrons are a cornerstone technology in the US nuclear stockpile stewardship program.

Varian Linatrons are also used in industrial computed tomography systems (industrial CT systems), which are used in a number of applications such NDT, inspection, failure analysis, and reverse engineering in the automotive and aerospace industry.

The Varian industrial accelerator product group provides linac systems for small-scale radiation processing, i.e. radiation sterilization such as electron beam sterilization of medical disposables, and food irradiation. This group also produces special systems for various linear accelerator scientific applications such as those undertaken by National Laboratories.

The Linatron M series is now making a major contribution to cargo inspection for manifest verification. It is being used in the interdiction of contraband, drugs, weapons (including weapons of mass destruction), detection of nuclear materials, i.e., the detection of weapons-grade fissile material, the detection of chemical explosives and other dangerous materials, used for chemical attack and bioterrorism as well as the detection of stowaways.

The Linatron M is thus playing a significant role in both the war against illegal drugs and the war against terror, and thus is important to Homeland Security i.e., anti-terrorism, transportation security, and border security.

These systems allow for the rapid X-ray inspection of air cargo, X-ray inspection of trucks, the X-ray inspection of sea-going cargo containers, and the X-ray inspection of rail cargo and other large containers. These systems are installed in fixed cargo inspection facilities and mobile cargo scanning systems.

In addition, the Varian Security and Inspection Group recently introduced the K9 Linatron accelerator, the first 'interdigitated' dual-energy accelerator designed specifically for cargo screening. It emits X-rays in a pattern that alternates between two energy levels at lightning speed -- more than 400 times per second.

By analyzing the X-rays that emerge when a cargo container is scanned, systems equipped with the Linatron K9 can generate information about high-density objects and nuclear materials in cargo containers.

X-Ray Products Business

Varian Medical Systems’ X-Ray Products Business is the world’s premier independent supplier of X-ray tubes, serving manufacturers of imaging equipment for medical diagnostic imaging and industrial X-ray imaging as well as distributors of replacement X-ray tubes.

This business provides the industry’s broadest selection of X-ray tubes expressly designed for the most advanced diagnostic and inspection applications including X-ray tubes for CT scanning, X-ray tubes for radiography, X-ray tubes for mammography, and X-ray tubes for baggage screening.

X-Ray Products develops and manufactures tubes to meet evolving requirements for high-resolution imaging, faster patient throughput, longer tube life, of smaller dimensions, and greater cost efficiency. X-Ray Products also supplies a new line of amorphous silicon flat-panel image detectors for medical and industrial digital applications.

Ginzton Technology Center

The Ginzton Technology Center serves as Varian Medical Systems’ research and development organization. The Center’s mandate is to create market growth opportunities for Varian Medical Systems by developing technologies that eclipse current capabilities in radiation therapy and X-ray imaging and/or lead to entirely new businesses.

An important repository of scientific and engineering expertise, the Center conducts research in support of product development for the company’s business units, as well as contract research for other medical institutions.