Business Health

WICKramarachchi to enter Bangladesh market

Shirajiv Sirimane

J. M. WICKramara- chchi and Co. will be setting an up and branch in Bangladesh soon, mainly to promote Cochlear implant programme.

Cochlear implantation is a recognized and accepted medical procedure for the treatment of severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in both children and adults.

The cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides individual with the sensation of hearing by bypassing the damaged part of the inner ear. It is recommended for individuals who obtain limited or no benefit from traditional hearing aids.

Many people in Bangladesh has heard about the success of this program and have invited to carry out this in their Country as well. “This is why we decided to move to Bangladesh,” President and CEO of the company Mihira Wickramarachchi, said. “We would be also marketing our range of spectacles and sunglass in Bangladesh,” he said.

He said the main reason for this is the success rate they achieved in Sri Lanka. “Sri Lanka’s success rate in the Cochlear implant programme is in par with developed countries such as Japan and China where technology is far advanced,” he said.

The program has been coordinated by the company for well over two decades with assistance from Australia.

Today J. M. WICKramarachchi, the sole agents for the product and Company, which started from Delkanda has branched off to Galle Road Colombo 3, Kandy and Kurunegala.

A few years ago patients had to go overseas to perform this implant and today many private and government hospitals are involved in these implants. “This enables the patients to save almost up to a Rs. One million,” he said.

When a person goes overseas for treatment in addition to the implant charges they also have to travel frequently to monitor the progress.

Wickramarachchi says their showrooms have also upgraded their facilities, such as screen hearing testes, OAE, ABR and ASR and are able to detect and guide patients from one year onwards.

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Radiation treatment at Ceylinco Healthcare opens in September

Sri Lanka’s first private radiation therapy centre for the treatment of all forms of cancer, is in the final stages of equipment installation and is on schedule for its formal opening in September, its promoter Ceylinco Healthcare Centre announced this week.

Medical and technical personnel at this ground-breaking venture have completed overseas training and familiarization and are now testing and calibrating the sophisticated state-of-the-art equipment at the centre located at Park Street, Colombo 2, the company said.

Equipped with Sri Lanka’s first Linear Accelerator, the international ‘Gold Standard’ in the delivery of accurate, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for the treatment of cancer, the centre will offer the latest techniques available in this sphere, its Senior Oncologist and Medical Director Dr. Sarath Abeyakoon said.

Dr. Abeyakoon recently completed a training cum familiarisation programme in the USA, covering treatment planning and the use of the Linear Accelerator for various forms of cancer.

Commenting on the new knowledge he had been exposed to, Dr. Abeyakoon said: “The precision of treatment possible with the Linear Accelerator is amazing. It allows doctors to spare normal tissue and treat only the areas affected by cancer.

This is a notable advancement on the treatment facilities currently available in Sri Lanka.”

He said four technicians from the Ceylinco Healthcare Centre had also recently returned from a training programme in Singapore on the use of the Linear Accelerator.

“Everything is falling in to place on schedule and we expect to be ready to offer all services by September,” Dr. Abeyakoon added.

The centre will also offer Brachytherapy (short distance radiation treatment) and Radioactive Iodine Treatment, with the most advanced equipment available. Siemens of Germany and Nucletron of The Netherlands are the main suppliers of the cutting-edge medical equipment installed at the centre.

An ultra-modern facility of 19,000 square feet, the six storied radiation treatment facility at the Ceylinco Healthcare Centre.

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New breasts for girls

An Australian men’s magazine has outraged health experts by launching a competition in which the top prize is new breasts for the winner’s girlfriend.

Zoo Weekly has urged men to submit photographs of their girl’s cleavage so that readers can vote online for which woman most deserves 10,000 dollars (8,450 US) worth of plastic surgery to improve her chest.

“It’s impossible to think of a more romantic gift than new breasts,” magazine editor Paul Merrill said in a statement.

But health experts attacked the competition, describing it as unethical and in poor taste.

“I’m disgusted and appalled, and very doubtful they can even offer major body modification as a prize,” said Jenny O’Dea, a public health researcher at Sydney University.

AFP

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DIMO provides first Linear Accelerator by Siemens

Sri Lanka’s first Linear Accelerator was provided by Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) to Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Unit, Sri Lanka’s first private radiation centre. This equipment known as “ONCOR Impression Plus” was another innovative medical solution from Siemens, the world leader in medical solutions.

Siemens began manufacturing linear accelerators for delivery of radiation therapy in Walnut Creek, California in 1974. In 1987, the first fully digital linear accelerator, the MEVATRON(tm)-2 series, was introduced.

Siemens was recognised as a pioneer in the advanced treatment technique of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) with the introduction of the PRIMUS(r) family of linear accelerators in 1996.

IMRT provides a method for “wrapping” a tumor with a radiation dose, thereby lessening side effects that can occur when normal tissues surrounding the tumor are irradiated.

Approximately 60% of all cancer patients worldwide receive radiation therapy as a part of their treatment. The objective of radiation therapy - also known as radiation oncology or radiotherapy - is to irradiate and destroy tumor cells, while sparing the surrounding unaffected tissues and critical organs from excessive radiation.

As treatment delivery techniques become more exacting, the practice of radiation oncology is becoming highly dependent upon the use of imaging.

Prior to planning the treatment, physicians known as oncologists make use of the most modern imaging techniques available. ONCOR Linear Accelerator includes, Siemens new MVision(tm) Megavoltage Cone Beam Imaging Solution which is the latest in this field.

Commenting on the new Siemens Linear Accelerator available at Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Unit, Senior Oncologist and Medical Director Dr. Sarath Abeykoon said, “The precision of treatment of possible with the Siemens Linear Accelerator is amazing. It allows doctors to spare normal tissue and treat only the affected by cancer. This is a notable advancement on the treatment facilities currently available in Sri Lanka.”

Siemens is represented in Sri Lanka by DIMO for more than 45 years. And the servicing of this new Siemens Linear Accelerator is also done by DIMO, “with-DIMO-care”. DIMO has supplied state-of-the-art Siemens Medical Solutions to many government and hospitals and institutions in Sri Lanka.

General Manager Siemens Medical Solutions at DIMO Wimal Nananayakkara, said, “We are proud to introduce one of the most advanced medical systems in the world, to Sri Lanka. Correct delivery of radiation treatment is dependent upon exact positioning of the tumor on the treatment table. As treatment delivery techniques become more precise, the use of imaging plays a more important role in radiation therapy, to ensure that the tumor is in the correct position for treatment.”