Elekta is a global Swedish company that develops and produces
radiation therapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radi ...
and
radiosurgery-related equipment and clinical management for the
treatment of cancer
Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy) and synthetic lethality, most commonly as a series of separate treatments ...
and brain disorders. Elekta has a global presence in more than 120 countries, with over 40 offices around the world and about 4,700 employees.
History
Elekta was jointly founded in 1972 by the late
Lars Leksell
Lars Leksell (1907–1986) was a Swedish physician and Professor of Neurosurgery at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the inventor of radiosurgery.
Life and career
Lars Leksell was born in Fässberg Parish, Sweden on Nove ...
, Professor of Neurosurgery at the
Karolinska Institute
The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led Medical school, medical university in Solna Municipality, Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. ...
in
Stockholm, Sweden, and his son
Laurent (Larry) Leksell, in order to commercialize the development of the Leksell Stereotactic System, and
Gamma Knife
Radiosurgery is surgery using radiation, that is, the destruction of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy), it is usually u ...
, which he had been researching since the late 1940s.
Since 1994, the company has been listed on the
Nordic Exchange
Exchange may refer to:
Physics
*Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States
* Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* ...
(
Nasdaq Stockholm
Nasdaq Stockholm, formerly known as the Stockholm Stock Exchange ( sv, Stockholmsbörsen), is a stock exchange located in Frihamnen, Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863, it has become the primary securities exchange of the Nordic countries. As o ...
) under the
tickerbr>
EKTAb Larry Leksell became
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
of Elekta until 2005, and under his leadership the company expanded into a public
medical technology group with more than 3,400 employees worldwide. Larry Leksell remains the Chairman of the Board of Elekta. The role of President and CEO has been held by the following:
* Tomas Puusepp: May 2005 to May 2014
*
Niklas Savander: May 2014 to May 2015
* Tomas Puusepp: May 2015 to June 2016
* Richard Hausmann: June 2016 until June 2020
* Gustaf Salford: June–November 2020 (as Acting President and CEO); November 2020 - today
Acquired companies
Elekta has acquired companies within the industry as well as distributors and service providers. Some of these include: Philips Medical Systems radiotherapy division, IMPAC Medical Systems, Inc., Beijing Medical Equipment Institute (BMEI), 3D Line Medical Systems, CMS, Inc., Nucletron, ProKnow Systems, LLC, Kaiku Health.
Products
Elekta produces a wide range of devices used in
stereotactic radiosurgery, a noninvasive procedure used to treat brain disorders such as tumors,
arteriovenous malformation (AVM), and some functional diseases. These devices include:
Neurosurgery products
Neurosurgery products, such as the Leksell Stereotactic System, an arc-based stereotactic frame, based on a polar coordinate system, that is fixed to the patient's head when performing minimally invasive stereotactic neurosurgery procedures.
Leksell Gamma Knife, used to treat
brain tumors by administering high intensity
gamma radiation therapy in a manner that concentrates the radiation over a small volume. The original device was invented in 1967 at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden by Lars Leksell, Romanian-born neurosurgeon Ladislau Steiner, and
radiobiologist
Radiobiology (also known as radiation biology, and uncommonly as actinobiology) is a field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living things, especially health effects of radiation. ...
Börje Larsson from
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
, Sweden. The first Gamma Knife was brought to the United States through an arrangement between US neurosurgeon
Robert Wheeler Rand and Leksell and was given to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1979. Today there are more than 330 Leksell Gamma Knife systems installed and used globally.
Linear accelerators
Elekta also produces
linear accelerators
A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear be ...
(linacs) used for
external beam radiotherapy
External beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is the most common form of radiotherapy (radiation therapy). The patient sits or lies on a couch and an external source of ionizing radiation is pointed at a particular part of the body. In contrast to brachyt ...
(EBRT), the most common form of radiotherapy (radiation therapy). Some of Elekta’s linacs include:
* Versa HD linear accelerator (linac), launched in 2013.
* Elekta Unity MR-Linac, the first high field (1.5
Tesla) MR-Linac combines
magnetic resonance imaging with a radiation therapy (MR/RT) system (linear accelerator). It was developed together with
UMC Utrecht
The University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU; Dutch: ''Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht'') is the main hospital of the city of Utrecht, Netherlands. It is affiliated with the Utrecht University. Since the foundation of the university in 1636 an ...
and
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
and launched in 2018.
* Harmony linear accelerator, launched in 2020.
Brachytherapy devices
Through the acquisition of Nucletron in 2011, Elekta became the global market leader in
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, prost ...
devices. These include:
* Flexitron
afterloader, which delivers the planned radiation dose to the treatment area.
* Applicators (Geneva
/sup> and Venezia /sup>) for cervical cancer patients.
* Oncentra Brachy treatment planning software.
* ImagingRing, a mobile CT scanner
Software
* MOSAIQ oncology information system (OIS) for oncology workflow and information management.
* Monaco treatment planning
In radiotherapy, radiation treatment planning (RTP) is the process in which a team consisting of radiation oncologists, radiation therapist, medical physicists and medical dosimetrists plan the appropriate external beam radiotherapy or internal ...
system.
During its 50 years, Elekta has developed and marketed dozens of new products, and owns thousands of patents for neurosurgical and radiation therapy-related technologies.
Environmental, Social, and Governance commitment
Elekta adheres to its Global Environment Policy, striving to manage its environmental impacts throughout the value chain and the life cycle of delivering its products and services, to meet its long-term environmental ambitions and sustainability goals.
Elekta issued the first sustainability-linked bonds in Sweden with a pure social KPI. The funds of SEK 1.5 billion are intended to contribute to increasing the global access of cancer care in underserved markets.
In August 2021, at its Annual General Meeting, Elekta’s shareholders approved the Board of Directors’ proposal to establish the Elekta Foundation. The Elekta Foundation’s mission is an important part of Elekta’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy and priorities. Its mission is to initiate and support projects and programs in partnership with governments, NGOs and healthcare providers in low- and middle-income countries to improve access to cancer care. /sup>
Other relevant documents and links can be found o
the Sustainability page
of Elekta’s website.
Read more in Elekta’
In-Depth Sustainability Report
from July 2022.
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.elekta.com
Technology companies of Sweden
Health care companies of Sweden
Health care companies established in 1972
Swedish brands
Companies based in Stockholm
Companies listed on Nasdaq Stockholm
Swedish companies established in 1972