Ceylinco Healthcare’s new linear accelerator to commence operation in December

Ceylinco Healthcare Services Limited (CHSL), which owns the leading specialist radiation treatment facilities in Sri Lanka’s private sector, has announced that its latest hi-precision linear accelerator unit will commence treatments in the first week of December; 3 months after its installation began.

Purchased from Varian Medical Systems, a global leader in Radiation Oncology, the state-of-the-art Clinac® iX linear accelerator replace CHSL’s existing unit, which when commissioned in 2007, was the first linear accelerator in the country.

The new linear accelerator delivers significant improvements in precision and reduced treatment times, enabling the CHSL’s Radiation Treatment Centre to efficiently deliver wide-ranging radiation therapy treatments including 3D Conformal Radiotherapy, Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) and MV based Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT).

The highly-sophisticated unit is also upgradeable to carry out Robotic Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT), RapidArc® Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), and stereotactic radiosurgery in the future, the Company said.

For patients requiring radiation treatment, the new machine’s ability to deliver higher doses of radiation with enhanced precision translate to shorter beam times, better targeting of tumours and by extension the sparing of healthy tissue, and in some cases, the possibility of a reduced number of treatments.

The Clinac iX linear accelerator features RapidArc® radiotherapy technology that offers the flexibility to shape the beam while controlling the dose rate and the gantry speed for a highly conformed dose; this means that the beam more accurately targets the shape and size of the tumour, while reducing damage to surrounding healthy tissues.

In preparation of the launch of the new linear accelerator, CHSL invited two leading experts in radiation oncology to Sri Lanka earlier this year. The experts, Dr Cheng Saw, Director of Medical Physics and Radiation Safety Officer at the Northeast Radiation Oncology Centers (NROC), Dunmore, PA, USA and Mr Piyush Singh, Head of Marketing for Accuray for South Asia, Middle East, Israel and Egypt delivered training and lectures to Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Centre staff and consultant oncologists.

Varian Medical Systems has installed more than 7,400 linear accelerators around the world, of which nearly 200 are operating in India. The company has extensive global and regional experience in radiation oncology. The Varian Clinac linear accelerator houses a range of capabilities that not only streamline the treatment process, but also expand possibilities for clinics.

For over a decade, CHSL, the most experienced and affordable private cancer treatment centre in the country, has successfully administered radiation therapy to over 5,000 patients. Besides two radiation treatment units – the Ceylinco Radiation Treatment Centre and the Ceylinco TomoTherapy Centre, Ceylinco Healthcare Services owns and operates the Ceylinco Diabetes Centre, offering comprehensive screening, diagnostic services and medical care.