First AI-intergrated robotic radiosurgery system equipped in Vietnam

FV Hospital on May 7 announced an investment f VND200 billion ($8 million) in the CyberKnife S7, the first such kind of system in Southeast Asia

According to Nguyen Thanh Duy, CEO of TD Tech and a representative of Accuray, the world’s leading radiosurgery technology manufacturer, FV is the first hospital in Southeast Asia to be equipped with the CyberKnife S7 system.

“This latest model of robotic radiosurgery is used for non-invasive cancer treatment and applicable in treating other conditions such as cerebrovascular malformations, arrhythmias, and more,” Duy said.

Explaining FV Hospital’s decision to invest in the world’s leading radiosurgery system, Dr. Jean-Marcel Guillon, CEO of FV Hospital, said that this is a highly advanced, specialised cancer treatment system already adopted by major hospitals worldwide.

“It allows doctors to precisely target and destroy small cancerous cells in hard-to-reach areas throughout the body. With this investment, the Hope Cancer Treatment Centre at FV Hospital will advance to become a regional leader in oncology care,” Guillon said.

As the latest generation in robotic radiosurgery, the CyberKnife S7 transforms cancer care with its minimally invasive approach. It delivers highly precise treatment to a wide range of tumours located anywhere in the body. The system also allows treatment of moving tumours, while enhancing patient safety, shortening treatment times, and significantly minimising side effects.

The standout feature of the CyberKnife S7 features real-time image-guided radiotherapy, and a robotic arm equipped with a linear accelerator delivering 6 MV photon beams. Its flexible, multi-angle movement in three-dimensional space allows it to accurately target tumours as small as one millimetre. This high level of precision enables the system to concentrate radiation doses directly on the tumour, minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissues and improving treatment outcomes.

With synchrony technology, radiotherapy can be delivered continuously and in real time, with the radiation beam precisely synchronised to the tumour’s movement. This minimises radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue, reduces treatment-related side effects, and enhances patient comfort. As a result, treatment duration can be significantly reduced to just 1-5 sessions in many cases, compared to the conventional 10-40 sessions required by earlier radiotherapy techniques.

Thanks to its ability to treat tumours throughout the body, including the brain, head and neck, lungs, breast, spinal cord, liver, kidneys, pancreas, prostate, and gynaecological organs, while other radiosurgery systems are often limited to the brain, the CyberKnife S7 is regarded as a powerful radiotherapy tool. The CyberKnife S7 can also target recurrent tumours or tumours located in hard-to-reach areas where conventional surgery is not viable.

CyberKnife S7 will start to treat the first patient in Vietnam after the centre for its accommodation is finished in the next 18 months. Cancer treatment using the CyberKnife S7 radiosurgery system will be covered by Vietnam’s social health insurance, helping reduce costs for patients.

Vietnam a pivotal market for Thomson Medical Group Singapore’s Thomson Medical has made its entry into Vietnam’s growing private healthcare following the acquisition of FV Hospital, which concluded last year. Dr. Melvin Heng, group CEO of Thomson Medical Group, talked to VIR’s Thanh Van about the company’s expansion strategy to tap into the potential of the Vietnamese market.

FV Hospital and O2 Healthcare Group set up first regional Thoracic Surgery Centre FV Hospital, a member of Thomson Medical Group, signed a memorandum of cooperation on August 15 with Singapore's O2 Healthcare Group, a member of OUE Healthcare Limited, to set up the first regional Thoracic Surgery Centre in Vietnam.

Singaporean doctors landing in Vietnam to treat complex medical conditions Thomson Medical Group, the owner of FV Hospital, announced on September 9 that 11 Singaporean healthcare organisations are to send their top surgeons to Vietnam to treat various complex medical conditions.