Apollo Hospitals has established new Apollo Speciality Cancer Hospital (ASCH) in Chennai. This new Cancer Hospital (ASCH) has a cyberknife robotic radio surgery system. Experts say that Cyberknife uses real time image guidance technology and computer-controlled robotics to deliver an extremely precise dose of radiation to targets. This saves the surrounding healthy tissue while adjusting for patient and tumour movements during treatment.

Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Executive Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, said that the company plans to set up two more robotic radio surgery systems in two cities but the locations are yet to be decided. This system is designed to treat tumours anywhere in the body with sub-millimetre accuracy.

Dr Reddy added that while patients undergoing cyberknife treatment would have to spend double of what they would spend otherwise, the biggest advantage is the procedure can be completed in a week's time. Other procedures typically take about seven weeks. Moreover, cyberknife also does not trigger any side effects.

ASCH senior consultant radiation oncology Dr Sanjay Chandrasekar said that it offers significant benefits. Many of the complications associated with other conventional cancer therapies are minimised or eliminated by the CyberKnife system. It can be used to treat tumors previously considered inoperable and most CyberKnife treatments can be performed even on an outpatient basis.