Diagnosis Of Diseases To Get Cheaper, More Accurate

Vadodara, 17 Sept 2018: Diagnosis of cancer and non-cancerous Alzheimer’s, heart diseases, drug addiction and traumatic brain injury is set to become cheaper and easy.

The non-profit Kailash Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at Goraj-based Muni Seva Ashram has procured Gujarat’s first high-power cyclotron which can produce medical isotopes for diagnosis of these diseases. The medical isotopes help in positron emission tomography (PET) and CT scans, but until now these medical isotopes had to be brought from other states which increased treatment costs and created logistical problems.

The cyclotron is also the first in western region which will help in diagnosis in non-cancerous diseases.

“Since these medical isotopes will be produced locally and used here, the shipment cost will be saved. The other advantage is that the isotopes will be used before they decay,” said Dr Rajesh Kantharia, medical director of the hospital. He added that medical isotopes have a life of certain hours so by the time it reaches a hospital from other state a big part of it would already be decayed.

The entire project took seven years to complete and it cost Rs 18 crore and large part of it was funded by the Belgium government. “The Belgium government gave a grant of six lakh euros and the manufacturing company IBA also reduced the price of cyclotron as we are a no-profit institution,” Kantharia added.

Muni Seva Ashram’s chairperson Dr Vikram Patel said that the cyclotron at the hospital is the first in the world to be installed in a rural area and it will save Gujarat Rs 30 crore in airfares annually. “The treatment will also be done at one-fourth of the cost incurred otherwise,” he added.

“This is a high-power machine so it generates less radiation heat and also consumes less power. The cyclotron will also be helpful in research work so that new isotopes can be produced,” said Rakesh Pathak director of IBA India.

Many of the patients that the hospital receives come from rural areas of not only Gujarat but neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.ET Healthworld