Introducing Bhabhatron-II TAW Cobalt-60 Teletherapy at PGIMER, Chandigarh
The Bhabhatron-II TAW Cobalt-60 Teletherapy machine is a 100 percent indigenous unit – a joint venture of Radiological Physics & Advisory Division (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) and Panacea Medical Technology Private Limited, Bangalore, Karnataka, for delivering radiotherapy to cancer patients. It retains the advantages of Cobalt-60 machines with additional features of a paperless record, improved treatment accuracy, efficacy, and safety, an 8-hour battery backup for uninterrupted use even in power failure, and very little downtime permitting 60-70 treatments daily without unscheduled breaks. It is highly cost-effective compared to imported versions of Cobalt-60 teletherapy units and costs 75% less than low energy linear accelerators currently available, thus allowing its wider application for cancer therapy. Its versatility allows treatment of cancer in different sites, i.e., brain, head and neck, breast, extremities, palliative therapies, etc. It has already passed the international certification of International Electrotechnical Commission and CE (Conformité Européene) safety standards. It has been widely accepted as an efficient treatment modality among the various cancer centres in India and abroad.
At present, we have four functioning linear accelerators, two brachytherapy units, one Theratron 780-C (Cobalt-60 unit), one X-ray simulator and two CT-simulators (one of them with 4DCT capability) in addition to several treatment planning systems, that are being continually used for patient care (treating 250-300 patients with radiotherapy daily) as well as research. The latest addition to this armamentarium is Bhabhatron-II TAW Cobalt-60 unit that was inaugurated by Prof Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER on August 20, 2021. Sh Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, Deputy Director (Admn); Sh Kumar Abhay, Financial Adviser; Prof Sushmita Ghoshal, Head of Radiotherapy, Prof SC Sharma, former Head, Department of Radiotherapy; Prof Arunaloke Chakrabarti, Chairman Space Allotment Committee were present along with faculty, staff members and students of Department of Radiotherapy.
The Department of Radiotherapy at PGIMER caters to many cancer patients from almost all North India, including J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh. The installation and clinical use of Bhabhatron II allows more patients to receive affordable and quality treatment in a timely manner, thus affirming our commitment to cancer control. Nearly 70% cancer patients require radiotherapy at some point in the disease course, either for cure or symptomatic relief. The availability of different modalities under one roof allows us to triage and individualize treatment specifications according to patient and disease requirement, be it large field treatments, for example, in head and neck, gynaecological or breast cancers that constitute the larger proportion of our cancer load, or highly focused small field modulated or radiosurgical treatments. This has helped curtail our waiting times to less than two weeks.
