Media Alert: Cancer Treatment at Tygerberg Hospital Get a Double Boost | Western Cape Government

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Media Alert: Cancer Treatment at Tygerberg Hospital Get a Double Boost

24 May 2013

The newly installed Big Bore CT scanner at Tygerberg Hospital (TBH) offers patients far more accurate treatment while saving them time.

Dr Magda Heunis, Clinical Head of Radiation Oncology, said: ‘The public will benefit from the installed CT by receiving more accurate planning of treatment in a fraction of the time that previously was required. More accurate planning will result in a higher probability to provide a curative treatment regimen, with fewer side effects to surrounding normal tissue.’

The Function of the Big Bore CT Scanner Include:

• The Philips Big Bore has the largest available tunnel to accommodate the patient to be scanned in the exact treatment position. The patient can be set up with the stabilisation devices used during treatment and CT scanned in the exact same way. This improves reproducibility of patient set up and improves productivity and patient throughput.

Benefit to the public:

• The 16 slice CT is also capable of respiratory gating that use the breathing cycle of the patient to gate the images. This improves for example lung tumour delineation, by determining the movement of the tumour in the lung while the patient is breathing.

• This is a single such equipment in the country that can tremendously help suitable patients with lung cancer undergoing curative radiation therapy either alone or in combination with chemotherapy.

Research and Training Centre:

Western Cape Government and Stellenbosch University jointly funded the upgrading of the ‘teaching block’ that was part of the initial building of the Gene Louw Building since 1986. It consisted of a now obsolete library, small auditorium and a few offices. Cancer research and development became more advanced but the infrastructure remained the same.

Prof. Jeremic, Head of the Division of Radiation Oncology, said: ‘The new “teaching and research block” will further emphasise our commitment towards excellency in the two respective fields. Our responsibility remains ever growing due to the fact that the Division of Radiation Oncology is the single South African Regionally Designated Centre (RDC) authorised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations (UN) body dealing with nuclear energy. As such, we train and educate a large number of foreign supernumerary registrars in clinical and radiation oncology from numerous African countries.’

The newly upgraded centre will have:

• A comfortable and modern area for registrar education.

• A dedicated computer room for research.

• A rest area for visiting lecturers.

• High-quality conference facilities.

Media Enquiries: 

Laticia Pienaar
Communications Officer: Tygerberg Hospital
Tel: 021 938 5454
Cell: 073 464 2034
E-mail: Laticia.Pienaar@westerncape.gov.za