Dharamshila Cancer Hospital in India Sets New Benchmark in Providing Innovative Third Generation Vmat Radiation Technology

New Delhi, India, March 08, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Dharamshila Hospital And Research Centre, one of the top cancer hospitals in India, has taken another pioneering step for advanced cancer treatment, by commissioning Delhi’s first Linear Accelerator with Vmat technology. The new technology delivers targeted radiation, with the help of highly sophisticated software, like missile from a computerized satellite. It delivers Imrt, Igrt, Srs, Srt and Sbrt with Arc Therapy. The machine is functional and is delivering personalized, safe, efficient and high quality radiation with enhanced dose conformance as per the tumour size, shape and pathology. With this new technology, total integral radiation dose has been reduced to one tenth and treatment time to only 2 - 3 minutes as against present 30 minutes. This leads to higher tumour control probability, reduced probability of secondary tumours and minimal side effects.

Highlights Of Elekta Synergy Linear Accelerator With Vmat Technology

It is the next generation arc therapy technique that has established new standards for Radiation Therapy by reducing the treatment delivery time to a few minutes. This reduces the potential for patient motion and enables better patient comfort and tolerance.

Vmat gives

Full 40X40cm Uninterrupted Field Size
Variable Gantry Rotation Speed
Continuous Collimator Angle Optimizations
Single or Multiple Super- imposing Arcs
Coplanar or Noncoplanar Arcs
Active Leakage Reduction

Multileaf Collimators with Dynamic Movement - Sophisticated Imrt and Igrt tools, including micromultileaf Collimators for Srs, Srt and Sbrt
Portal Imaging and Cbct for patient position verification
Record and Verify System
Database Storage about the treatment and its parameters
Very fast delivery of Imrt plans
Sequence Mode Imaging allowing true evaluation of patient motion during treatment position.

Benefits Of Vmat Technology
For Patients

Personalized, safe, efficient and high quality Radiation Therapy.
Enhanced dose conformance as per tumour size, shape and

Pathology.

Reduced (1/10th) total radiation dose to prevent occurence of second primary tumours.
Reduced treatment time (1/6th) to prevent inconvenience.
Minimal side effects /complications.
Higher tumour control probability.

For Physicians

Portal imaging and Cbct for patient position verification.
Largest (40 X 40 cm) uninterrupted field size.
Sequence mode imaging allowing true evaluation of patient motion during treatment.
Image and treat patients at the same frame of reference, visualizing soft tissue details.
Ultralow dose and 3D Volumetric Imaging to minimize treatment margins without compromising safety.
Modulating radiation intensity with single / multiple super imposing arcs.
4D adaptive IGRT and fastest delivery of imrt plans

Imaging And Positioning
The Linear Accelerator offers both mv, kv and xvi (ct) imaging at the time of treatment. High conformance radiation treatment modalities require precise positioning, immobilization and organ motion management. To address the issue of motion management, Dharamshila Hospital offers range of solutions for the entire body i.e. Body Fix, Active Breathing Coordinator, Head Fix, Srs / Srt frames etc.

Radiation Applications
Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (Imrt)
This highly complex and promising technique was started at Dharamshila Hospital in 2005. Now, Imrt is being delivered through Vmat techniques in a continuous arc around patient effectively, from infinite delivery angles; reducing the integral dose to one tenth and treatment time to few minutes. Imrt is used for tumours arising from Head and Neck, Brain, Lungs, Lymphomas and Gynaecological Cancers.

Image Guided Radiation Therapy (Igrt)
Igrt has been evolved to enable clinicians to treat the tumours that move with internal motion. Igrt provides a very effective means for mitigating the risk of tumor motion. Real time image guidance and adaptive radiation therapy involves constantly imaging the motion of the tumour during treatment delivery and changing beam delivery on the fly to compensate for undesired motion. Igrt is most suitable for Tumours of the Prostate, Urinary Bladder, Lungs and Gynaecological cancers.

Stereotactic Radio Surgery (Srs)/Stereotactic Radiotherapy (Srt)
SRS is a non-invasive procedure, best suited for treating Intracranial Tumours, Vascular Malformations and Small Extracranial Lesions. Significantly higher doses of radiation are delivered over significantly shorter treatment sessions (1-5). The benefit lies in the potential for better tumour control with higher doses, as well as the sharper dose profile used, targeting cancerous tissue while sparing surrounding healthy critical structures.

Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (Sbrt)
It is mainly used for small tumours which lie very close to critical structures in the body where a high precision dose delivery is needed to avoid long term morbidity. SBRT is used for patients with Spinal, Paraspinal and Lung Tumours.

Respiratory Gating
Respiratory Gating is mainly used for tumours in Chest which move with breathing. The movement of the tumour is controlled by breath control. Respiratory Gating is suitable for Tumours of Breast, Lung and abdomen etc.

About Hospital:
Dharamshila Hospital And Research Centre is one of the best cancer hospitals in India for advanced cancer treatment. It is the largest cancer hospital in Delhi with a bed strength of 300. Dharamshila Hospital And Research Centre is India's First and only Nabh accredited Cancer hospital with Nabl Accredited labs. It is the only exclusive cancer treatment hospital which also has facilities for treatment of all other associated diseases of cancer patients, under one roof. Dhrc has thousands of cancer survivors enjoying normal life. Being one of the top cancer treatment centre, Dhrc attracts National and International Patients (Uae, African Countries, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan etc.)

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