Bengaluru-based firm to commercialise ‘desi’ magnetron

New Delhi, May 25 (PTI) The Centre on Wednesday announced support to a Bengaluru-based company for the commercialisation of a domestically-developed high-powered magnetron with a capability to treat even a two-mm brain tumour with precision radiation.

The Technology Development Board (TDB) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Panacea Medical Technologies Private Limited to provide financial support for the development and commercialisation of “S Band Tunable Magnetron for Particle Accelerators”.

The pact was inked in the presence of Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh.

The TDB has agreed to provide a loan assistance of Rs 4.87 crore, of the total project cost of Rs 9.73 crore, to the company.

Singh said the high-powered magnetron developed by the CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) for commercial use will be a pathbreaking technology for oncologists to treat even a brain tumour with a two-millimetre diameter with precision radiation and with very little side-effects.

He said this will not only increase efficacy, but also prove cost effective in the treatment of micro and major tumours.

“Currently, our economy is dependent on the use of imported magnetron in various applications related to non-destructive testing (NDT), radar and other industrial applications, in addition to medical applications. This technology can be further extended for other applications, ensuring a seamless supply of the RF source to medical LINAC manufacturers across the globe,” the minister said.

He said the TDB support to Panacea Medical Technologies could lead to making cancer treatment more affordable for the common man.

Singh said medical devices have been identified as a priority sector by the Narendra Modi government under its flagship “Make in India” programme.

He said India is the fourth largest medical devices market in Asia, after Japan, China and South Korea.

Panacea had acquired the 2,998-MHz magnetron technology indigenously developed by the CEERI for 2.6 MW S-Band Frequency Tunable Pulse Magnetron for mass production and usage in radiation therapy machines for cancer treatment, G V Subramanyam, the managing director of the company, said.