Ceylinco Healthcare invests Rs 500 m
Facilities in Sri Lanka for radiation treatment for cancer will
undergo a quantum upgrade with the acquisition of cutting-edge
TomoTherapy equipment by Ceylinco Healthcare Services Limited (CHSL),
the company that introduced the Linear Accelerator (Linac) to the
country.
R. Renganathan, Chairman of CHSL and Eric Arnould, Senior
Director International Finance & Administration at Accuray
Europe sign the agreement in the presence of (from left) Ketan
Desai, Vice President – Sales, Kirloskar Technologies (Pvt)
Ltd., Thushara Ranasinghe, Director CHSL, Ranjith Pandithage,
Chairman of DIMO Ltd., and Manish Jaiswal, Sales Director –
India & subcontinent for Accuray Medical Equipment India (Pvt)
Ltd. |
The company, a subsidiary of life insurance leader Ceylinco Life, is
investing US $ 3.725 million (Rs 500 million at current exchange rates)
on a TomoTherapy Hi.Art Treatment System from Accuray Inc., of USA, for
a new treatment unit at Park Street, Colombo 2, in close proximity to
its ground-breaking first Radiation Treatment Unit.
“From its inception, Ceylinco Healthcare has been focused on making
the latest techniques in cancer treatment affordable to a larger segment
of Sri Lankans,” said R. Renganathan, Chairman of CHSL. “This new
machine has the capability to treat the full spectrum of cancers,
including brain tumours with minimal effect on surrounding tissue.”
The first machine of its kind in Sri Lanka, the TomoTherapy treatment
system will enable Image Guided Radiation Treatment (IGRT), which brings
a new dimension in delivering precise radiation to the target and
sparing normal tissue, Dr. Sarath Abeyakoon Senior Consultant Oncologist
& Medical Director of the Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Centre said.
Eric Arnould, Senior Director International Finance & Administration
at Accuray Europe said the technology used in the TomoTherapy treatment
system enables a sharp distinction between the tumour dose and the dose
to outlying tissue. The 360° delivery of radiation provides unmatched
flexibility to treat cancers even in areas that are hard to access, he
said.
The TomoTherapy treatment system delivers radiation therapy with a
spiral delivery pattern known as TomoHelical™. Photon radiation is
produced by a linear accelerator which travels around the patient and
moves in unison with a device called a multi-leaf collimator that shapes
the beam. Meanwhile, the couch also moves, guiding the patient slowly
through the centre of the ring.
The Hi·Art treatment system uses its unique CT scanner design to
deliver radiation continuously from all angles around the patient. It
features patented beam-modulating technology that divides a single beam
into many smaller, narrow, 6 millimetre ‘beamlets.’ More angles and more
precise modulation result in dose distributions that conform to tumours
like never before. This, in turn, minimizes damage to surrounding
healthy tissue.
As both a treatment delivery machine and a CT scanner, the
TomoTherapy system allows doctors to take a CT scan just before each
treatment. With the scan, they can verify the position of the tumour
and, if necessary, adjust the patient’s position to help make sure
radiation is directed right where it should be. CTrue™ imaging,
available only from the TomoTherapy system, allows clinicians to see
what they plan to treat immediately prior to beginning each treatment
fraction.
This is important because anatomy can change from day to day. CTrue
helps ensure that the tumour will not be under-dosed, and that radiation
exposure to surrounding tissue will be minimized according to plan.
Ceylinco Healthcare Services recently entered into an agreement with
TomoTherapy Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of Accuray Europe and the
company’s authorised local representative Dimo (Private) Ltd., for the
purchase of the TomoTherapy Hi.Art Treatment System, which the company
hopes to commission at its second Radiation Treatment Centre in July
2013.
Established in collaboration with the Washington Hospital Centre,
Ceylinco Healthcare Services owns and operates the state-of-the-art
Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Centre at Park Street, Colombo 2, the
Ceylinco Healthcare Centre and the Ceylinco Diabetes Centre, which offer
comprehensive screening, diagnostic services and medical care in a
comfortable and non-hospital atmosphere. |