A Partnership of Technology and Medicine...

Varian is a diversified, international electronics company that designs, manufactures, and markets high-technology systems and components for applications in worldwide markets.

Major product lines include radiation therapy and planning equipment for cancer treatment; X-ray tubes for diagnostic imaging, wafer fabrication equipment for the semiconductor industry, and analytical instruments and vacuum equipment for science and industry.

Expert Support works primarily with the Varian Medical Systems (formerly Varian Oncology Division of Varian Associates) and has provided the following services:

• Documentation for VARiS Reports
• A full-color, poster-size data model diagram for the VARiS database
• Custom reports for VARiS users
• Documentation for MLC and Shaper software applications
• Production assistance on various documentation projects

VARiS Reports Documentation

VARiS Reports is an integrated report-writing tool for extracting, formatting, and printing information in the VARiS database. Expert Support updated the VARiS Reports documentation that was distributed with the last release of the VARiS system.

Data Model Diagram

Expert Support designed and produced Varian's first data model diagram for the VARiS database. This diagram was produced as a full-color poster and is used by Varian's customers, as well as their technical staff, for designing custom reports with the VARiS Reports tool.

Custom Reports

Although Varian provides several standard reports for VARiS, many users want custom reports developed specifically for their needs. Deb Bouvier, a former member of our technical staff, has developed custom reports for Varian's customers. This project involves making customer visits, running focus groups, and writing requirement specifications, as well as the implementation of the reports.

MLC and Shaper Documentation

The Multileaf Collimator^™ (MLC) is an accessory for Varian C-series radiation therapy machines. The MLC shapes the x-ray beam to conform to the shape of the treatment area. The MLC system includes both hardware and software.

Expert Support extensively rewrote the following documents for the summer 1997 release:

• MLC User Guide: a comprehensive reference guide for end users of the MLC software and hardware, including physicists and radiation therapists.
• Shaper User Guide: a comprehensive reference guide to using Shaper, the application used to define the shapes of treatment fields in the treatment plan files used by the MLC.

Production Assistance

Expert Support has provided production services to Varian on a number of documentation projects. Services have included indexing, graphic design, Microsoft Word to FrameMaker conversion, application of FrameMaker templates to documents, and more.