Kidwai hospital gets key radiation oncology component 10 years late

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after inaugurating the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology Cancer Research and Training Centre (KMIO) in Bengaluru on Monday, 23 August 2021. Dr K Sudhakar, Health and

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai looks at the Robotic Operation Theatre after its inauguration at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology Cancer Research and Training Centre (KMIO) in Bengaluru on Monday, 23 August 2021. Dr K Sudhakar, Health and Family

Dr C Ramachandra, Director KMIO explain function of Robotic Operation Theatre to Basavaraj Bommai, Chief Minister after inaugurated at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology Cancer Research and Training Centre (KMIO) in Bengaluru on Monday, 23 August 2021.

Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS), an integral part of radiation oncology that has been in use in India for a decade now, was inaugurated at state-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) on Monday.

With the second-highest number of cancer patients in India after Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital, Kidwai has more than 20,000 new cancer patients every year apart from 3.5 lakh follow-up patients, 80% of them below poverty line. Every day, more than 1,500 cancer patients visit the hospital.

One doctor who did not want to be named told DH: "Kidwai has a huge amount of data in radiology. This data could generate so many research questions and get a lot of research grants which major private oncology hospitals are getting from countries like the US. Getting X-rays, ultrasound images and PET CT scan images over 30 years is a huge opportunity."

Dr C Ramachandra, Director, KMIO, said: "More than three lakh patients' records have been digitised from 1973 which is not easy in a public hospital. Only some 10% is left. In the west, they've been using PACS since 1980s. Lab reports, X-rays, CT scans, MRI, Mammogram, OT notes, radiotherapy history, everything has been archived. I can access it from our Kalaburagi branch too."

Briefing Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who inaugurated the facility, Sanjeev S, MD and CEO of Mediff Technologies, said: "As medical specialists can access images remotely and send back the diagnosis within minutes, general physicians start treating patients at once without wasting time waiting for a specialist to arrive at the hospital."

Several facilities costing more than Rs 50 crore were also inaugurated. These include a central sterilisation room, a PET scan bunker, a bone marrow transplant facility, a genomic and advanced molecular oncology lab, CT simulators with world-class technology, a brachytherapy unit, paediatric ICU, day care ward and step-down ICUs.