2 new technologies for cancer patients

Apollo Hospital group has installed Asia Pacific’s most advanced cyberknife — a frameless robotic radio surgery system — at the Apollo specialty cancer hospital in Chennai, reports Rhythma Kaul.

A new ray of hope has emerged for cancer patients with the introduction of two highly advanced technologies on Saturday.

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Apollo Hospital group has installed Asia Pacific’s most advanced cyberknife — a frameless robotic radio surgery system — at the Apollo specialty cancer hospital in Chennai.

Unlike the popular gamma knife, which can only be used to treat tumours above the neck area, Cyberknife is the world’s only robotic radio surgery system designed to treat tumours anywhere in the human body without undergoing the conventional surgical procedure.

Dr John Rodenbeck Adler Jr., professor of neurology and radiation oncology at Stanford University Medical Centre, and inventor of the cyberknife, is in town to create awareness about this modern technique that offers maximum efficacy with almost zero side effects. “This procedure more precisely and more aggressively treats cancerous growth anywhere in the body,” he said.

Through the real time image guidance technology and computer controlled robotics, an extremely precise dose of radiation is given to the target, thereby avoiding damage to the surrounding healthy tissues.

As there are negligible side effects, the patient does not tend to lose hair or develop skin ulcers or face any of the problems. The technique can treat any brain tumour in less than 16 minutes and body tumour within 30 minutes over three to five sessions.

“We plan to keep the cost under Rs 5 lakh, which will be one-fourth the cost of the treatment in the US,” said Dr Pratap C. Reddy, executive chairman, Apollo hospitals group.

Another technology which SIEMENS healthcare launched is for early and accurate detection of breast cancer. To address the issue, Siemens Healthcare introduced a unique technology called Breast Elasticity.

This advanced form of ultrasound technology can diagnose cancerous lesions in a breast at an early stage, thus avoiding the painful process of biopsy.