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This robot is unique in France – University Hospitals of Marseille – AP-HM
- The North Hospital of Marseille has bought a machine that can cure cancerous tumors in a short time
- The facility is the only one in France, and the second in Europe, to have such a robot.
- The first patients should be treated in this way at the end of November.
An ultra-efficient robot that is unique in France, and of which there is only one other example for the moment in Europe, in Florence. Professor Didier Cowen, Head of Stereotactic Radiation Therapy at North Hospital, doesn’t hide his enthusiasm when he talks about the little technological gem his department is now equipped with. Baptized CyberKnife S7, this ultra-precise robot represents real hope for the thousands of cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy every year in the hope of eradicating the tumor that devours them.
“This technology was originally developed for the automotive industry,” says Didier Cowen. The robot is used in this industry to weld to the nearest hundredth of a millimeter. It’s high tech, no average doctor can handle this machine! By adding a device capable of sending rays as part of radiation therapy, this robot has the ability to precisely target the cancerous tumor on a much smaller surface than usual treatments. “It prevents us from ‘pulling’ aside, explains Didier Cowen. Usually, a larger area is irradiated to reach a tumor and this can have acute side effects.”
A small number of sessions
“It can also track a tumor if it moves, because the robot can predict the tumor’s movement, enthuses Didier Cowen. This is a unique function that no other device is able to perform so far. However, the precision of this robot made possible thanks to the progress of science allows it to send a stronger dose of rays in a shorter time. “Thanks to this machine, we can perform hyperfractionated stereotaxis,” explains Didier Cowen. This twisted term means that, with such a precise device, we can multiply the doses sent to the tumor by five or ten and at the same time reduce the number of sessions. For example, for prostate cancer that took 35 to 40 sessions, it is possible with this machine to treat the tumor very quickly, in three to five sessions. “
A company that greatly limits the side effects of radiotherapy prescribed in the treatment of cancer. Purchased by AP-HM during the summer for the modest sum of 4.7 million euros, this robot must receive the approval of the nuclear safety authority before it can be put into service. According to the AP-HM, the first patients could be cured at the end of the month.
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