Non-invasive cancer treatment devices are increasingly available and are accepted by a broad range of patients world over for their unique attributes. Most of the leading Indian medical institutions too have installed non-invasive therapy options, but they are all developed and manufactured by foreign medical devices companies. Till recently India could hardly boast of any such biomedical breakthrough technology. Now the indigenously developed cutting-edge non-invasive cancer treatment device, Cytotron, has finally arrived. Center for Advanced Research and Development (CARD), the research wing of Scalene Cybernetics, the Bangalore-based organization engaged in research on cutting-edge medical electronic technologies, has made a noble invention for non-invasive treatment of cancer and osteoarthritis.

Courtesy of Scalene Cybernetics

With over two decades of research on Rotational Field Quantum Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (RFQMR) technology, Rajah Vijay Kumar, a pioneering researcher and an opinion leader in the field of biophysics and radiobiology, along with his team at Scalene Cybernetics has created the new device. Kumar holds worldwide patent for his invention and has licensed the technology to Scalene to manufacture and market it internationally.

According to Kumar, director and chief scientific officer, CARD and chairman of Scalene Cybernetics, “The development of this technology started in 1987. The basic idea behind this technology is to alter the transmembrane potential (TMP), the potential or voltage difference between the cell membrane, in human tissue to stimulate specific protein using TMP pathways resulting in tissue regeneration or degeneration, as required.”

THE DIFFERENCE

The Cytotron is different from other cancer treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Based on RFQMR technology, the treatment modality through Cytotron is highly advanced and shows phenomenal improvement in patient’s quality of life, without leaving any major side effects. In fact, combining Cytotron with chemotherapy substantially reduces the side effects of even powerful chemotherapeutic molecules. Cytotron can radiosensitize the tumor for traditional radiotherapy to work better on the tumor and reduce collateral damages as the surrounding tissue will have lower radiosensitivity.

“Conventional radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation at the end of high frequency spectrum and can cause collateral damage. However, Cytotron uses a more benign, non-ionizing variable proton density guided resonance approach. The cancer stem cells that sing the loudest will be attacked first, the next in line is poorly differentiated cells and finally well-differentiated ones. The normal cells don’t sing at all so they are never attacked and thus this approach is said to have no side effects,” says Kumar.

RESULTS MATTER

The clinical trials for Cytotron were conducted at CARD center and over 140 terminal cancer patients had undergone treatment through the product during clinical trials. Of these, the one-year survival rate was 52 percent while 92 percent of the patients had improved quality of life for whatever period they lived, as assessed by accepted quality of life protocols. “The technology has a proven track record and 52 percent of the end-stage cancer patients, who were expected to live for a month or two, have survived more than a year. The three primary aims we are looking at with this technology are to arrest cancer growth, stop its spread from organ to organ, and provide better quality of life,” informs Kumar.

Cytotron has recently obtained the European Union (EU) certification by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) as Class IIa medical device. With the Cytotron now being recognized and accepted as one of the therapeutic modality with the grant of the EU certification, there has been a widespread interest in the technology for the treatment of cancer and osteoarthritis. Kumar says, “The CE mark is the most mandatory requirement for placement in the European Economic Area (EEA). The CE certification, which is one of the most respected marks in the world, ensures adherence to the various consumer safety, health and environmental benchmarks of the EEA countries.”

The company has received requisitions to install Cytotron from Europe, Middle East, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Mexico. Kumar expects over 1,000 Cytotron machines to be installed around the globe by 2015. Scalene has so far sold 16 units of Cytotron in India and other markets.

Cytotron 864 can treat all types of solid tumors, including widely metastatic disease in terminal patients. Though terminal systemic malignant diseases can be treated, no trials have been conducted so far to prove its efficacy in patients.

Cytotron will probably allow the next level of performance in cancer treatment. It is not clear how much investments were made towards developing the product. However, Kumar revealed that developing Cytotron required 100 man years of research.

Being a technology-oriented company, Scalene over the period has indigenously developed many technologies in the field of medical engineering, artificial intelligence, modeling, and simulation. In the area of medical engineering, it has patented two important technologies – the Cytotron and the Haemoseis 256, which are advanced therapeutic and diagnostic devices. The company is currently working on a new type of drug delivery product and a device for treating hepatopancreatic dysfunctions.