Hi-tech healthcare has come home to Patna.

Machines from Europe, Japan or US that have arrived or are coming to the city have made it redundant for patients to go elsewhere for advanced services.

Patients who need to undergo cornea reshaping will benefit from an advanced Lasik laser at Divyadrishti Eye Centre, Raja Bazar, which its owner Dr Subhash Prasad bought recently from Germany. The price of the equipment is Rs 2.5 crore.

“Almost all the private hospitals in Patna possess the older Lasik laser machine for cornea reshaping. The operation takes a lot of time. The advanced machine helps conduct cornea reshaping much faster,” said Prasad. It is also way more accurate than the older version.

Those who have unclear vision because of a retina problem and want to avail of the best possible treatment can hurry to CSN Eye Hospital, which has recently acquired a 3D optical coherence tomography. “Most hospitals in Patna have the 2D optical coherence tomography machine. None has the 3D version except us,” said the director of the hospital, Sandeep Sawhney.

The 3D machine helps detect ketratoconus — a degenerative disorder leading to structural changes within the cornea, making it thin and leading to a substantial distortion of vision. Bought from Japan, the machine is priced at Rs 35 lakh. It also helps detect glaucoma and the problems related to the optic nerve. “The optic nerve sends messages from the eye to the brain,” said Sawhney.

The hospital also has an advanced virectomy used in retinal surgeries. Sawhney said: “A virectomy machine takes a considerable amount of time to perform retinal surgery. So there is always a danger of developing unwanted traction in the retina. This side effect can be averted by using the advanced virectomy machine, which performs the surgery very fast.”

It has been bought from US.

While patients of eye diseases are already getting advanced treatment, those suffering from various forms of cancer have hope around the corner.

Paras HMRI Hospital at Raja Bazar would soon get a positron emission tomography, commonly known as a PET scan machine. It would be the first one in the state.

This machine is used to detect cancer metastasis or spread of the disease through cell metabolism.

Manoj Kumar Choubey, a doctor with the radiotheraphy department of the health hub, said: “We are soon going to install a PET scan machine. It helps to diagnose brain tumours and different stages of cancer. We are going to import it from UK.”

Sources said the hospital would have to shell out Rs 11 crore for it.

Another machine that the health hub is planning to acquire is the advanced radiation therapy. Priced around Rs 15 crore, this is a single machine that can be used to treat different kinds of cancer like that of breast, brain and laryngitis. “The machine is very accurate and kills cancer cells at high speed,” said Choubey, adding that it is also being imported from UK.