Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), GE Healthcare and Varian Medical Systems today are announcing a cooperative working relationship to jointly address the growing oncology needs in rural India. Under this arrangement, KIMS plans to establish 10 'See and Treat' oncology centres with an investment of Rs 200 crore for acquiring latest technology for these centres. The proposed network of centres will have one advanced GE Discovery PET/CT Molecular Imaging Systems each for detecting the disease at its earliest possible stage and three centrally located cyclotrons for producing FDG bio-markers required for the disease detection. Several of these centres will be equipped with radiotherapy and radio-surgery technology from Varian Medical Systems for treating patients.

The first-of-its-kind, stand-alone, 'See and Treat' cancer care centres are expected to come up at Vijayawada and Visakhapatanam in Andhra Pradesh, Bhubaneshwar in Orissa, Thrissur in Kerala, Pune & Nagpur in Maharashtra; Raipur and Indore in Madhya Pradesh; Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and Patna, Bihar

GE Healthcare and Varian Medical Systems will provide turnkey assistance to equip these 'See and Treat' cancer care centres in the above mentioned towns. The centres are expected to be functional by June 2011 and will also be capable of providing diagnostic services in cardiology and neurology.

Our vision of locating 'See and Treat' centres close to their homes will make early detection and treatment easy, cost-effective and help save many lives. I intend to start with 10 centres, but wish I could have one in every small town in India to help early detection and treatment of cancer" said Dr B Bhaskar Rao, managing director and chief executive officer, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad.

A one-stop-facility for cancer, cardiac and neuro care in Tier II and III towns will ensure molecular imaging and scanning capabilities to allow multi-medical therapy possible, said Terri Bresenham, vice president, Molecular Imaging Business, GE Healthcare.

“Molecular imaging techniques in combination with specific biomarkers are helping physicians to choose suitable medications for a particular patient, predict and monitor the effects of those medications,” she added.

The proposed 'See & Treat' cancer care centres will feature three cyclotrons - GE PET-Trace and CGMP laboratory that produces high yields of radioisotope biomarkers. These are essential for accurate PET diagnosis.

According to V Raja, president, GE Healthcare South Asia, this strategic partnership is in line with our vision of 'healthymagination' to reduce costs, increase healthcare access and improve quality & efficiency. GE Healthcare and KIMS together, will be exploring the possibility of creating such centres of excellence across India.

Varian has always focused on providing technology and equipment that increases access to advanced radiotherapy treatments by lowering the overall cost per treatment. “This ambitious vision should make a big difference in providing advanced radiotherapy treatments for cancer patients in rural areas,” says Michael Sandhu, regional head, Varian’s Oncology Systems