Mangaluru: Dr Prashanth Marla, Medical Director, A J Hospital & Research Centre, Mangaluru announced on Wednesday that the hospital has installed a Hi-End PET/CT scan, the first of its kind in Karnataka. This high end PET/CT will be inaugurated by Sri Sri Keshavananda Bharathi Swamiji of Yedaneeru Mutt on Friday, May 27 2016 between 11.30 and 12.00 noon.
Dr Marla addressing a press meet informed that the decision to install PET/CT involved huge investment of around Rs 12.5 crores with almost an equivalent amount to establish suitable additional infrastructure was taken as it was one of the important equipments required in a hospital. He also said that the return on investment was low but it would be very beneficial for patients.
“The PET/CT can identify the exact stage of cancer, follow-up growth and recurrence if any after the treatment. It can be employed in cardiac therapy where one part of the heart is inactive and also can aid in treating neurological disorders like dementia and in localizing epilepsy,” he said
“There are around 140 PET/CT’s in India out of which 8 are in Karnataka. A J Hospital is the first to possess PET/CT in Dakshina Kannada district and is among the few who possess the latest version in India. Siemens, Germany is the supplier of the PET/CT and the world’s top ten renowned hospitals are employing the same with four hospitals based in United States alone mainly due to presence of Lyso Crystals which is an added feature,” he added.
“Each procedure will cost around Rs 22,000 approximately where a patient has to be injected an hour before the scan and the scan will take less than 30 minutes. During the procedure the patient’s body will experience minimal radio activity like in nuclear medicine. Currently the hospital has 1300 beds serving 1000 out-patients for free and 600 in-patients with subsidized rates. An advertisement campaign is launched by the hospital to promote the new PET/CT and to inform public that cancer can be cured, if detected early,” he informed.
“Cancer patients in the region can avail the facility which helps to locate even a minor lesion. Through a program called ‘Jeevana Vileena’, the hospital is trying to ensure that even poor people can get the benefit. Till now 4-5 people have benefitted through this program and efforts are on to support few more,” said Marla.
A J Hospital and Research Centre
A.J. Hospital and research centre has always been in the forefront providing the best of healthcare that matches the best in country. It has many first to its credit in the field of patient care and latest equipment. A J Cancer Institute was launched in April 2013 to provide comprehensive cancer care with all the facilities such as Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, which was first of its kind in the entire district of Dakshina Kannada. Now A J Cancer Institute is complete with the launch of PET/CT scan.
What is PET/CT Scan?
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and computerized Tomography (CT) are both state -of -the-art imaging tools that allow physicians to pinpoint the location of cancer within the body before making treatment recommendations. The highly sensitive PET scan images the biology of disorders at the molecular level, while the CT scan provides a detailed picture of the body’s internal anatomy. The PET/CT scan combines the strengths of these two well established imaging modalities into a single scan.
Why is PET CT scan done?
The majority of PET/CT scans are performed for oncologic applications .Physicians utilise PET/CT scans for diagnosing, staging and evaluating treatments for their cancer patients. A PET scan helps the physician distinguish between living and dead tissues or between benign and malignant disorders.PET imaging provides the physician with additional information about cellular activity which guides the characterization of a questionable abnormality as malignant or benign. A PET/CT scan can show the extent of disease. A PET/CT scan can also help physicians monitor the treatment of the disease.
After treatment is complete, a PET/CT scan allows the physician to investigate suspected recurrence of cancer, revealing tumors that might otherwise by obscured by scar tissue resulting from surgery and radiation therapy. A PET/CT scan puts time on your side .the earlier the diagnosis and the more accurate the assessment of the extent of disease, the better the chance of successful treatment.
Salient features of the PET CT installed at A J Cancer Institute
Siemens Biograph mCT Excel , a powerful molecular CT within reach of all. The state –of –the-art tool will aid in detecting disease earlier, characterizing disease more accurately as well as improving therapy planning and monitoring. The ability to detect disease sooner and to accurately monitor disease progression is a major focus in PET/CT imaging. These requirements demand high image quality to see small objects in any organ, with adequate accuracy. the PRT/CT exhibits exceptional image quality throughout the entire field of view giving clinicians the diagnostic confidence to make sound clinical decisions .
The Biograph mCT 20 Excel is a whole body PETY.CT tomograph designed for the purposes of oncological ,neurological and cardiac imaging and diagnosis. With a single noninvasive procedure, the Biograph reduces remarkable CT and PET.CT images that reveal highly-detailed anatomy and biological processes at the molecular level.
Time of Flight
TOF features the actual time difference between the detection and coincidence photon. This additional timing information is used to better localize the event within a small range along each line of response (LOR). The better localization of each event using TOF reduces noise in the reconstructed image.
