Tayside's first PET/CT scanner patient

The first PET/CT scanner patient will be seen today (Wednesday, 24 February) at the Clinical Research Centre at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital.

Lymphoma patient Marjorie Wood, of Dundee, will be first to use the £1.7 million state-of-the-art equipment. She was diagnosed with cancer last summer and finished a course of chemotherapy at the end of last year.

The PET/CT scanner was installed as a result of funding from the Scottish Government as announced by Cabinet Secretary for Health & Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon at the official opening of the Clinical Research Centre in July 2008.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive nuclear medicine imaging procedure that uses a form of radioactive glucose to identify abnormalities within the body.

The 128-slice Computerised Tomography (CT) scanner incorporated into the system will allow any abnormalities identified to be accurately located in the organs involved.

The opening of the PET/CT service will mark a significant advance in the diagnosis of patients suspected of having certain forms of cancer in Tayside who, until now, have had to travel to elsewhere, such as Aberdeen, for imaging.

Several hundred patients a year are expected to benefit from the installation of the new Tayside scanner.

Consultant Physicist in Nuclear Medicine Norman Kennedy said, "This is a great addition to the diagnostic imaging service within Tayside and significantly improves the staging of disease for patients with certain forms of cancer.

 “The benefits arising from this joint venture by NHS Tayside and the University of Dundee include the early detection of disease by distinguishing between benign and malignant abnormalities, accurate assessment the stage the disease is at within the patient, the early evaluation of the response to therapy and the detection of residual disease and disease recurrence.”