Faculty Members:

Dr Dillip Kumar Parida, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology

Radiation Oncology Facility at NEIGRIHMS:  

Our goal is to provide the best possible care for our patients and their families. Our facility is increasingly recognized by others for its leading technology and expert care and is increasingly preferred by patients for its comfortable and compassionate environment. Creating a healing environment for cancer patients and their families is of paramount importance at NEIGRIHMS. We at NEIGRIHMS are at a beginning stage and a high priority is placed on having a comfortable physical setting and soothing decor within the Department of Radiation Oncology. Radiation oncology treatment will be provided in an outpatient facility that is emotionally welcoming and friendly, avoiding the impersonal feel of many hospital settings. Minor facets of interior décor have been taken care of to provide the cancer patient a healing touch and make him comfortable.

The Waiting Lounge: Artwork will adorn the walls, and a comfortable waiting area with a private entrance offers refreshments, books, games and other amenities. The department staff will be working hard and high priority will be on keeping the atmosphere personable and upbeat. The waiting area is intended to create an atmosphere of peace, safety and contemplation that balances the high-tech environment inside the treatment/HOT area. It also provides a comfortable setting where patients can get to know each other, which many patients say creates a valuable, and informal support network. The most innovative feature about NEIGRIHMS radiation facility, which no other cancer Centre in India have is the walls of the waiting area will be decorated with visuals containing facts and myths about cancer and its prevention and most importantly how to prevent cancer like Breast self examination, matters relating to Various other Screening tests etc. This feature will add to the information about cancer of the patient as well as the relations and it will definitely have a deterrent effect on the abuse of carcinogenic products.  

FACILITIES:  

Linear Accelerator: At present there will be two state of the art Linear accelerator (One high and the other Low Energy).

A linear accelerator (LINAC) is the most modern radiation equipment commonly used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer. Besides treating cancer patients with conventional mode, it has got the ability to have the state-of-the art treatment facilities like 3-D Conformal Radiotherapy, Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SRT) and Radio Surgery (SRS), Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy(IMRT), Total Skin Electron Irradiation (TSEI) etc. The sparing of normal tissues surrounding the tumor is also better with Linear Accelerator than conventional Cobalt machine.

It produces both X-rays of different energies for tumors situated at various depth. It also produces electrons of various energies for superficial tumors.

Multileaf Collimator (MLC) :  MLC is an abbreviation used to describe the multileaf collimator. The MLC is an up to date method of defining a radiation field which can be customized to the shape of the tumour (Figure ). Available research results suggest that this method of limiting radiation not only gives a high tumour dose and spares sensitive tissue but also speeds the process of customizing radiation fields. This feature is particularly useful in head and neck cancer. This in addition to the high energy radiation of 18MV will provide an inbuilt advantage in treating deep seated tumours, e.g. in the prostate.

High Dose Rate Brachytherapy: Brachytherapy is a method by which a radioactive source is placed in the part of the body that is to be treated and a high dose of radiation is given to a very limited area from very near quarter to the tumor. The advantage of brachytherapy over external beam irradiation is that the dose is concentrated in a small area. The volume of tissue that is treated is limited, and the surrounding normal tissue receives a lower dose of radiation than it would if external beam irradiation was used instead. Brachytherapy can either be given with conventional low-dose sources, where the treatment takes place over several days in the hospital, or it can be given on an outpatient basis using a high-dose-rate ( HDR ) brachytherapy machine. We at NEIGRIHMS are getting one state-of the art HDR brachytherapy machine. In some situations, however, HDR brachytherapy is as effective as low-dose-rate brachytherapy and has a very low risk of radiation injury. In these instances, it may be preferable to the low dose treatment because HDR brachytherapy can be given in 2 or 3 outpatient treatments. The actual treatment delivery lasts about 5 to 10 minutes, while the overall visit to the radiation therapy department lasts 30 minutes to 1 hour, in contrast to a hospitalization that might take several days for low-dose-rate brachytherapy.
    An HDR brachytherapy treatment generally involves a short visit to the radiation oncology department, where a device or holder is placed into the area to be treated. Thereafter, the device is connected to an HDR brachytherapy machine, and a small, but intense, radiation source (a radioactive "seed") is loaded into it. A high dose of radiation is given over treatment time that varies somewhere in the range of 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the intensity of the source. The radioactive seed is then withdrawn back into the brachytherapy machine, which then is disconnected from the device that was placed into the tumor.  The device is removed and the patient is discharged from the department to return a week or two later for a second or third treatment, depending on the number of treatment prescribed.  The advantages of HDR brachytherapy compared with low-dose-rate treatment are that it is more convenient and less expensive. An additional advantage is that there is minimal, if any, associated risk of deep vein thrombosis or thrombophlebitis, which may occur if a patient is placed in bed for several days for a procedure such as a low-dose-rate gynecologic implant.

Stereotactic Radio Surgery (SRS) & Stereotactic Radiotherapy (SRT): These two are highly precision radiotherapy procedures usually performed for intracranial tumors where sparing of a single mm of normal brain tissue is of utmost importance.  SRS is delivering a very high dose radiation in a single sitting, while in SRT, the total dose of radiation is delivered in a fractionated manner to  the tumor volume.

Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT): This is the most latest form of conformal radiotherapy in which a very high total dose of radiation is delivered to the tumor sparing the adjacent normal tissue completely. Thus normal tissue morbidity is less in patients treated with IMRT. In recent days, IMRT has shown a remarkable reduction of dryness  oral cavity which was resulting out of irradiating salivary glands in treating head and neck cancers.

CT-Simulator (CTSim): CTSim simulates the process of transmitting X-rays through phantom objects. These X-ray data are called projections. CTSim reconstructs the original phantom image from the projections using a variety of algorithms. Additionally, CTSim has a wide array of image analysis and image processing functions.

Virtual-Treatment-Planning-Station: We are getting one latest virtual treatment planning Station which will be connected to the CT-Sim and all the Treatment Linear Accelerators. Within this planning station the images from CT-scan and MRI machine can be super imposed and a 3-dimensional effect of the tumor can be achieved and finally it can be put in the treatment planning system for radiation planning.

• Picture Archiving and Communication Systems. (PACS) Networking:    For the first time in India all our facilities are connected through PACS. A picture archiving and communication system (PACS) is an electronic and ideally film less information system for acquiring, sorting, transporting, storing, and electronically displaying medical images. However one can understand what a PACS is by describing its functionality: Its main function is the storage of digital images. 

Interstitial Brachytherapy: Radiation is essential for function preservation. Interstitial brachytherapy involves implanting radioactive needles or wires in the tumor area. The radioactive sources may be put in and taken out on the same day; removed from the body after several days; or may stay in the patient permanently. One of the advantages of interstitial brachytherapy is that it allows for specific localization of radiation dose to the tumor bed. The advantages of brachytherapy include (1) reduction of treatment time, (2) high radiation dose to the immediate tumor bed, (3) more effective delivery of radiation (less hypoxic and higher biological dose) and (4) relative sparing of overlying skin and surrounding normal tissue. These days with the advent of newer technology, almost all the sites are accessible for interstitial brachytherapy.  

Intracavitary Radiotherapy: With intracavitary brachytherapy, a radiation oncologist places radioactive sources, using a metal or plastic device (applicator), in body cavities such as the vagina, uterus, or larynx to irradiate the walls of the cavity or nearby tissues. Usually the radioactive source is after loaded into the applicator. When the specified dose of radiation has been delivered to the tumor, the physician removes the applicator containing the radioactive isotope.

Intraluminal radiotherapy: Intraluminal radiation therapy delivers radiation to hollow organs like esophagus, cancer of CBD , Bronchogenic carcinoma etc. For example, a radiation oncologist inserts a specially designed tube or applicator into the lumen inside which the radioactive source can come and stay for some time and  deliver a desired radiation dose from a very close vicinity.  

The Radiation Oncology facility at NEIGRIHMS is geared up in such a way that it will bear the signature of our dedicated service.

Staff Residence & Contact Phone Numbers