Development of Digital Radiotherapy Simulator: A Device for Tumour Localization, Radiotherapy Planning and Verification

Radiation therapy is one of the established modes of cancer treatment. For the safe and effective radiation therapy, it is necessary to plan and deliver the radiation beam accurately. Radiotherapy Simulator helps in identifying the organs at risk and in localising the cancer-affected tissues. For teletherapy, the Simulator would also help in choosing the right radiation beam and aiming it at the target. Although, radiotherapy simulator is an essential tool for improving the quality of teletherapy, there is acute shortage of such machines in our country due to the high cost of the imported units and the lack of indigenous technology. In fact, many cancer hospitals with teletherapy units do not have radiotherapy simulator. Considering the growing incidence of cancer and the need for such devices, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai has recently developed a Radiotherapy Simulator. This article briefly describes some of the features of the indigenous Radiotherapy Simulator.