Come February, cancer patients in the region will have access to advanced radiotherapy equipment closer home at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bathinda.
Officials on Friday stated that AIIMS had secured two high-end machines, including a high energy linear accelerator (HELA) with 3D imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) scan, for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
High-energy linear accelerators are advanced medical devices that accelerate electrons to near-light speeds, producing high-energy X-rays or electron beams to precisely target and destroy cancer cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue
A PET scan is a non-invasive, nuclear imaging test used to diagnose, stage and monitor cancer by measuring metabolic activity in body tissues.
Costing ₹60 crore, the machines have been provided by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) under corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Medical superintendent Dr Rajiv Kumar said the twin facilities will start catering to patients next month, when Union minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Puri was expected to inaugurate the advanced treatment centre at AIIMS. “The advanced facilities will enhance the healthcare capability of AIIMS to attend to patients from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and other areas in the region,” said Kumar, also the spokesperson of the central institute.
While HELA 3D imaging costs around ₹4 lakh in the private sector, AIIMS will offer it for ₹10,000, said radiation oncology department head Dr Anil Kumar Goel, who has been tasked with establishing the cutting-edge treatment facility due to his training at two prestigious cancer hospitals in the USA.
“AIIMS is the only healthcare institute in Punjab to have a HELA 3D imaging device that costs ₹30 crore. The two sophisticated machines are capable of all radiotherapy treatments used in all cancer-related diseases. Our technicians are being trained by a team of experts,” he added.
“The machines will help us perform radiotherapy with pinpoint accuracy. Only body parts affected by the malignant tumours will be exposed to radiation, while healthy cells nearby will not be affected. Advanced HELA machine is equipped with its own imaging system, which can accurately track malignant tumours in difficult terrains like the brain, lungs, and liver,” he added.
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