New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) A Ring Gantry-based Linear Accelerator was commissioned into the Department of Radiation Oncology at Army Hospital Research & Referral, Delhi, to strengthen cancer care services and improve access to advanced radiotherapy for serving personnel, veterans and their dependents, an official statement said on Monday.

It is expected to enhance in-house treatment capacity for the significant patient load at the hospital, the statement from the Ministry of Defence said.

The Linear Accelerator is capable of delivering modern radiotherapy techniques including Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy, Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy, Image-Guided Radiation Therapy, Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Stereotactic Radiosurgery.

It enables precise delivery of radiation to tumour sites while minimising exposure to surrounding normal tissues, thereby supporting improved treatment outcomes and patient care.

The procurement of the Linear Accelerator within the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) is a substantial upgrade from the previous equipment which has, since, been decommissioned.

The induction marks a step towards the modernisation of oncology services within AFMS, the statement noted, adding that other oncology centres under AFMS are also being upgraded in a phased manner.

The Ophthalmology Department at the Army Hospital Research and Referral (AHRR) had been in news in 2025 for successfully performing India’s first-ever 3D Flex Aqueous Angiography with iStent, combining advanced imaging with minimally invasive glaucoma surgery.

The integration of 3D Flex Aqueous Angiography with iStent, a Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery had set a new benchmark in glaucoma care, ensuring enhanced intraoperative imaging and better long-term results.

In August 2025, AHRR became the first government institute in India and the second in South Asia to perform Robotic Custom Laser Cataract Surgery using the state-of-the-art ALLY Adaptive Cataract Treatment System.

The achievement marked the Ophthalmology Department’s successful entry into the frontier of robotic, bladeless, and computer-guided eye surgery with its first-ever Femto-second Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery (FLACS).

—IANS

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