MDS Nordion to develop advanced external beam therapy system New unit will provide cancer clinics with greater flexibility to offer range of treatments OTTAWA, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Nordion announced today plans to develop a new external beam radiation therapy system for the treatment of cancer. The new system will provide cancer care professionals with greater clinical flexibility to offer a wide range of treatments from the simple to the more complex. The modern functionality of this next generation unit will allow clinics to maximize productivity while offering the most advanced cancer care. The new unit continues in the tradition of MDS Nordion's THERATRON(R) family of cancer treatment machines - providing cost-effective solutions to enable greater access to quality cancer care. "With an ever-growing demand, the need to improve timely access to cancer treatment is increasingly a concern in the global cancer-care community," says Dr. Laval Grimard, Head of Radiation Oncology at the Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre in Ottawa, Canada. "Cancer care professionals need efficient and effective tools to manage the workload." The new system will feature asymmetrical jaws and motorized wedge for expanded treatment possibilities and integrated operations will ensure accurate and reproducible treatment set-ups. In addition, ergonomic hand controls, a state-of-the-art treatment table and user-friendly graphical interface all contribute to maximizing efficiencies allowing clinics to treat more patients per day. "The challenges in modern oncology are overwhelming. Throughout the world, the rates of cancer are rising, putting an increased burden on resources as well as timely access to treatments," says John Corley, Senior Vice President, Ion Technologies at MDS Nordion. "The new external beam therapy system from MDS Nordion will enable busy clinics to provide more complex treatments while at the same time improve and better manage the workload." Every day, some 1200 MDS Nordion THERATRON external beam radiation therapy systems deliver more than 45,000 cancer treatments in over 80 countries. According to the World Cancer Report, global cancer rates are expected to increase 50 percent to 15 million new cases by the year 2020. The unit will expand the treatment possibilities and meet the clinical and productivity demands of radiation oncology departments around the world. The new MDS Nordion external beam therapy unit will provide the global cancer care community with an efficient tool that will expand treatment possibilities and advance cancer care worldwide. To learn more about this new external beam radiation therapy system, visit MDS Nordion at the following scientific meetings: the ONCO oncology congress, October 5 - 9 in Havana, Cuba; the European Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), October 24 - 28 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; the International Conference on Medical Physics (ICMP), October 28 - 31 in New Delhi, India; and the Association of Radiation Oncologists India (AROI) November 25 - 28, in Ludhiana, India. About MDS Nordion MDS Nordion (http://www.mds.nordion.com/) is a world leader in the radioisotopes, radiation and related technologies. MDS Nordion is part of MDS Inc. At MDS Inc., our 10,000 highly skilled people provide services, products and instruments enabling health sciences organizations to enhance the well being of people around the world. We focus on helping discover and test new drugs, assisting doctors to diagnose and treat patients and preventing the spread of disease. Find out more about MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ), at http://www.mdsintl.com/ or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day. DATASOURCE: MDS Nordion CONTACT: Olivia Nixon, Media Relations, MDS Nordion, Tel: (613) 592-3400 ext. 2832, E-mail:

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