IMRT System delivers First Treatment in India

Sterling Cancer Hospital in Gujarat, has treated the first patient in India with Varian’s Halcyon, an image-guided volumetric intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) system, for treatments of lung, prostate, breast, head & neck and many other forms of cancer.

"The high-quality Cone Beam CT images, the simplified workflow and the fast treatment delivery speed of the Halcyon system have made a very positive impact on our team and their ability to deliver advanced treatments," said Arun Shiva Balasubramanian, general manager, corporate head Medical Physics of Sterling Group. "The fast delivery time ensures that the patient is more comfortable, intra-fraction movement is minimised and hence setting a new standard in the precision of radiation therapy delivery."

"Halcyon was designed to deliver high-quality treatments and empower clinicians to care for more patients," said Ashok Kakkar, senior managing director, Varian India. "We are very pleased Sterling Cancer Hospital has now begun treating patients on the system and we look forward to our continued partnership with them to help increase access to cancer care across India."

Halcyon features a streamlined workflow that only requires nine steps from the start to the end of treatment compared to up to more than 30 steps with older technologies. To assist in the reduction of time and construction costs from installation to first patient treatment, Halcyon offers expedited commissioning, requires less shielding than traditional systems, can fit in the majority of existing small vaults and can be installed in two weeks or less.

Halcyon received Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Certificate for Import and Supply in India in February this year and in July the system received Type Approval.