Advanced radiotherapy machine launched at Medanta, Gurugram

Doctors say the system adapts to breathing and body position to limit radiation exposure to healthy tissue.

A new radiation therapy system that delivers sub-millimetric precision and significantly shorter treatment times has been introduced at Medanta Medicity in Sector 38, Gurugram, doctors at the hospital said.

The Varian EDGE can treat brain, lung, breast and head and neck cancers with shorter sessions, doctors say. (HT Photo)

The system, Varian EDGE, reduces a standard radiation session from about 2.5–3 minutes to under one minute, and large skin-field treatments from roughly 45 minutes to about 15 minutes, according to doctors involved in its use.

Medical experts said the machine uses surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT) to deliver focused radiation while adapting to a patient’s position and breathing, limiting exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.

“This results in faster, safer, and more comfortable radiation therapy, even for complex and high-risk tumours. We select a particular phase of respiration when the tumour reaches the planned position, and the machine automatically switches on the radiation at that phase,” said Dr Tejinder Kataria, chairperson of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Care at Medanta.

Dr Kataria said treatment times on conventional linear accelerators usually range between 2.5 and 3 minutes, while this new system brings this down to about one minute. The system is intended for treating cancers, including multiple brain metastases, head and neck cancers, breast cancer and lung cancer.

“For large-field skin treatments, we have reduced treatment time from about 45 minutes to 15 minutes, so patients spend half-an-hour less standing in the same position,” Dr Kataria said. She added that the system’s mounted physical cones allow treatment of certain functional brain disorders such as obsessive–compulsive neurosis and intractable pain, even when no visible tumour is present.

Doctors said the system includes an automatic safety mechanism that halts radiation if patient movement is detected. They added that most patients will not require thermoplastic immobilisation casts, except in cases involving moving organs such as the spleen and prostate.