A few leading hospitals share details about their unique PET CT

A few leading hospitals share details about their unique PET CT. PET-CT imaging system is moving toward low radiation and better imaging. By identifying body changes at the cellular level, PET may detect the early onset of disease before it is evident on other imaging tests. Here’s a look at the PET CTs of a few leading hospitals:

American Oncology Institute

Type of PET CT being used: Discovery IQ 3-Ring 16-Slice PET CT, manufactured by GE Healthcare. The 1st PET CT of the group, Discovery-600 from GE installed, was installed in Hyderabad in 2011. According to Nilesh Gupta, Zonal Director, American Oncology Institute, “Currently, we have five installations of these PET CTs in South Asia and about 8-10 more will get installed at various locations over the next 18 months.”

Number of patients that use the PET CT on a monthly basis: About 300.

Type of isotope used: Major consumption is of 18F-FDG (>95%) & few units of 18F-NAF. On-site or off-site cyclotron: “We do not have cyclotron either onsite / offsite,” says Nilesh.

Procedures for which the PET CT is used: “In our institute, PET/CT is mainly used for performing oncologic whole body PET/CT studies (more than 90 %) for patients with diagnosed cancer. We also perform studies for diagnosing and understanding clinically challenging non-oncology diseases including PUO, vasculitis, sarcoidosis etc,” says Nilesh. It is performing FDG PET/CT, which is a proven diagnostic modality for:

1. Accurately staging the cancer and thus impacting the treatment plan in up to 15-45 % of patients (depending on type of cancer) as compared to conventional imaging

2. Better assessment of response to treatment

3. Identifying recurrence of cancer at early stages

4. Long-term surveillance of patients who received treatment for cancer

5. Diagnosing certain rare clinical conditions in non-oncology patients that otherwise are not identified by conventional modalities (CT, MRI etc)

Precautions taken to ensure the safety of personnel in the department: The departments are manned with personnel who are well-trained in radiation safety standards. They are equipped with all essential radiation safety equipment (radiation monitors, Lead aprons, lead bins, lead shielded doors etc.). “Also, we ensure that policies for standard operating procedures are followed strictly while handling radioactive material and radioactivity administered patients. An institutional radiation safety committee is constituted and meetings for appraising the safety status and updating the SOPs are held at regular intervals,” says Gupta.

Trained personnel manning the department: The departments are headed by a qualified and trained nuclear medicine physician, who supervises the work flow of the department. It also has:

1. A qualified radiation safety officer for supervising the safety and regulatory aspects,

2. Two trained technologists for performing the PET/CT studies and

3. Additional support staff trained specifically for handling patients scheduled for PET/CT (including a patient coordinator, dedicated nursing and housekeeping staff).

AMRI Hospitals

Type of PET CT being used: Fluorodeoxyglucose (FD)PET-CT from GE at the Dhakuria unit of the group. It was first installed in 2011 which was first in Kolkata. Later, it was re-installed in October, 2014.

PET CT is used for: For different type of oncological indication like staging, response assessment, detection of recurrences and re staging. However, in recent years, it has gained considerable attention in non-oncological purpose like detection for pyrexia of unknown origin, assessment of dementia and cardiac viability.

Number of patients that use the PET CT on a monthly basis: Around 100 patients.

Type of isotope used: Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)

On-site or off-site cyclotron: It has an offsite cyclotron at Rajarhat, Kolkata, established by a joint venture of EKO and Siemens. The cyclotron serves all the centres in Kolkata.

Precaution taken to ensure the safety of personnel and the facility in the dept: Says Dr Anirban Mukherjee, Nuclear Medicine, AMRI, “The department has a dedicated radiation safety officer for nuclear medicine who ensures proper operation from radiation point of view. Regular training of staffs and concerned personnel has also been taken by the physician associated with the department.” Suggestion to make PET CT more affordable: Says Dr Mukherjee, “Decreasing the cost of FDG, the main isotope used for PET-CT, will help decrease the cost of PETCT. Also increase in the number of patients will help in decreasing the cost of the procedure.”

Sources: Healthcare Radius, July 2018