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                NECSA and NTP donate PET-CT scanner to Tygerberg Hospital

                
                

                On 25 November 2011, the Western Cape Health Department, NTP
                Radioisotopes and its parent company, the South African Nuclear Energy
                Corporation (NECSA), marked the intermediate phase of installing a
                R15.6 million positron emission tomography - computed tomography
                (PET-CT) scanner at Tygerberg Hospital.

                Mapula Letsoalo, NTP’s Executive Director, pointed out
                that, of the 9 functioning PET-CT scanners in the country, most are in
                Gauteng Province, with only one in the Western Cape. ‘The scanner
                owned by the Cape PET-CT Centre is currently shared between one private
                clinic and three state hospitals,’ she explained. ‘This
                scenario has caused strain as Tygerberg and Groote Schuur hospitals as
                well as Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital are only
                allocated two afternoon sessions per week. The need for an additional
                PET-CT scanner in the province was imminent as the use of F-18 FDG has
                grown by 109% in 2009/10 compared to 2008/09 for Tygerberg Hospital
                alone.’

                Western Cape Health Minister Theuns Botha said: ‘Western
                Cape provincial government is so thankful for the PET-CT scanner, which
                will bring enormous relief to the staff and capacity at Tygerberg
                Hospital. We have more than 2 000 new oncology patients at Tygerberg
                each year who depend on our services, as well as thousands more who
                come for follow-up. Patients from Groote Schuur and Red Cross War
                Memorial Children’s Hospital will also be scanned at the
                facility. Our health budget does not allow us to invest in the advanced
                technology offered by the scanner, and with this generous donation the
                hospital is now able to offer this service to more than 10 patients per
                day.’

                The tender to provide the PET-CT scanner was awarded to
                Philips Medical Systems. Professor James Warwick of the Nuclear
                Medicine Department at Tygerberg Hospital, and project leader,
                commented: ‘The Philips PET-CT system met all our main
                requirements as a dedicated oncology machine with time-of-flight
                technology enabling low FDG doses, and its suitability for radiotherapy
                planning including its large bore and full integration with the
                existing PACS and radiotherapy planning systems at academic hospitals
                in the Western Cape. Clinically, this means more accurate detection,
                better resolution, detection of smaller lesions and faster
                scanning.’

                Positron emission tomography (PET) is a modern medical
                functional imaging technique used in the management of patients with
                cancer; it is also used in infection and inflammation, cardiology and
                neurology. PET provides accurate diagnosis, staging and re-staging in
                certain cancers, and allows rapid evaluation of the efficacy of
                therapy. PET has led to changes in treatment options and prevention of
                unnecessary surgical procedures in a significant number of patients.

                Millions of patients throughout the world benefit from nuclear
                medicine scans and other procedures performed using products supplied
                by NTP. Letsoalo added that NTP manufactures, among other products,
                isotopes used to enable diagnostic imaging as well as several used in
                treating diseases. ‘Early detection of most diseases assisted by
                nuclear medicine scans greatly enhances the possibility of early and
                accurate diagnosis. This allows prompt and proper treatment and,
                therefore, a better chance of a saved life.’

                The contribution of the Western Cape Department of Health to
                this PET-CT project is around R14.75 million (R11 million for
                infrastructure and R3.75 million for equipment accessories). The new
                PET-CT scanner will be fully functional by the middle of this year.