Apollo Hospitals plans to establish a Proton Therapy Centre in India, the first of its kind across South East Asia, Africa and Australia. This launch is worth approximately Rs. 400 crores, which covers the equipment and services supplied by Ion Beam Applications SA (IBA) to help establish the Apollo Proton Therapy Centre including the long-term operation and maintenance contract.
IBA will equip the Apollo Proton Therapy Center with its Proteus PLUS multi-room configuration which will include three treatment rooms with Uniform Scanning and Pencil Beam Scanning capabilities. IBA will also provide all dosimetry equipment to ensure the safest and fastest commissioning of the centre so that patients can benefit from this technology starting 2016. In addition to this, the Apollo Proton Therapy Centre will have a significant portion of the facility dedicated to research and development which will apparently strive to foster innovation so as to make modern healthcare accessible and available for the nation.
Speaking on this new initiative, Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “This new proton therapy facility will give patients access to the most advanced radiation therapy technology. Moreover, the centre will become an International Proton Therapy Centre of Reference in Asia, allowing us to further enhance our ability to provide superior cancer care and promote the benefits of proton therapy technology across the sub-continent”.
Olivier Legrain, CEO of IBA, commented, “We are very excited to be making proton therapy available for the first time in India. The Indian healthcare market is growing rapidly and there is a significant need for innovative approaches to cancer therapy. Apollo Hospitals is one of Asia’s leading healthcare providers and through our collaboration, IBA further strengthens its world leading position in proton therapy and will be at the forefront of delivering the latest in innovative cancer therapy to the Asia region.”
EH News Bureau