Guwahati: Cancer care in Assam is set to receive a major boost with access to next-generation technology machine in Guwahati.Belgium-based IBA (Ion Beam Applications) is exploring DynamicARC Flash radiotherapy and multi-ion carbon therapy for Assam after signing an agreement with the state govt to install a proton beam therapy machine in Guwahati.Speaking at the agreement-signing ceremony, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said Assam was preparing its healthcare system for next-generation technologies, including Flash radiotherapy and multi-ion carbon therapy, as they become clinically available.IBA officials said the first patient was treated with Flash radiotherapy under the company’s C-FLASH-01 clinical feasibility study at Penn Medicine in the US.IBA CEO and vice-chairman Olivier Legrain said the company was developing two Flash radiotherapy technologies — DynamicARC and ConformalFLASH — which can be integrated with proton beam therapy machines.“DynamicARC could be closer to clinical availability in approximately three years, while the timeline for ConformalFlash remains dependent on ongoing research and clinical trials but looks short-term,” Legrain told TOI on Monday.Dr Siddharth Laskar of Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, said the technologies could reduce treatment-room occupancy and increase patient throughput, allowing more people to use existing infrastructure.Rakesh Pathak, director of IBA India, said, “IBA is committed to bringing the world’s most advanced cancer-treatment technologies to India in collaboration with govts and healthcare providers. Our objective is to ensure that Indian patients have access to these breakthroughs as soon as they are clinically ready and available.”DynamicARC is designed to deliver precise proton therapy as the gantry rotates, while ConformalFLASH combines proton therapy with ultra-high-dose-rate irradiation. IBA is also developing multi-ion technology with Normandy Hadrontherapy in Caen, France, to treat some radioresistant cancers.
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