Indigenous development of a remote afterloading brachytherapy unit for the treatment of carcinoma of cervix

The highest incidence of cancer among Indian women is carcinoma of cervix and hence its timely treatment is of utmost importance. Present techniques of brachytherapy for its treatment include use of caesium-137, cobalt-60 or iridium-192 radionuclides in manual or remote afterloading applicators inserted in the patient. Remote afterloading brachytherapy units are commercially available from overseas manufacturers to overcome the exposure to radiation personnel arising from use or manual applicators. But majority of cancer centres in India cannot afford to buy these expensive units. Keeping the above factors in mind a low cost remote alterloading unit has been designed which is technically feasible and economically viable. Radioactive Cs-137 sources in the form of three flexible source train assemblies supplied by Amersham International UK, will be utilized in this unit. The cost of this unit would be less than one-fifth the cost of an imported sophisticated unit