After five years of research, South Korean researchers have developed a new system that performs very precise radiotherapy treatment while minimizing damage to healthy cells, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) announced on Tuesday.

The new technology is based on a 4-dimensional image system that can track tumor movement in real time and an X-band medical linear accelerator with a short wavelength that can detect objects at a near distance with great precision.

A test device is installed at Seoul St. Mary`s Hospital of Catholic Medical School. The KITECH said radiotherapy systems based on Korea’s home-grown technology will soon be commercialized in the local market that has been dominated by American, German and Swedish companies.

If this technology becomes commercially available, Korean developers will be able to target China where demands are very high, a KITECH official explained.

The development study is jointly led by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute and the Catholic University.

By Park Joon-hyung and Minu Kim

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