Varian Medical Systems Inc. is opening an office in Hungary to act as a base for its radiation therapy equipment sales in southeast Europe, the company said in a statement Monday.

Why Hungary? Mostly, it seems to be about timing. Hungary's looking to replace or upgrade its aging radiation therapy equipment, and Varian hopes the country's 12 radiation oncology departments could benefit from its RapidArc systems, which provide image-guided treatment.

In a press release, Varian said that Hungary's radiation therapy departments will receive European Union grants to replace or fix the 26 radiotherapy units operating in the country. According to Varian, the equipment is getting up there in years, with most over 10 years old.

Plus, more advanced technologies such as intensity modulated radiation therapy or image-guided radiation therapy are currently seldom used in "daily routines," Varian said, something the company hopes to change.

"Every department should end up with two modern machines with new treatment capability such as RapidArc to enable fast, safe and precise image-guided IMRT treatments," Bence Kampos, Varian's area sales manager for Hungary, said in a statement.

The new office will be based in Budapest and employ seven people. Varian said it had previously served customers in the country through Fototronic, a local company. Varian said it has bought its business line from Budapest-based Fototronic to maintain "the local expertise" of its workers.

Varian, based in Palo Alto, Calif., said it has about 70 offices around the world.

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