HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, launched a range of new Nuclear Medicine services under the Clinical Imaging Department at the National Centre for Cancer Care and Research of Hamad Medical Corporation.
The new services demonstrate the department’s commitment to deliver international standards and to prove the best clinical imaging services for early detection and diagnosis of diseases in Qatar.
They include a second Positron Emission Tomography Scanner; a second hybrid imaging SPECT/CT Scanner; Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) imaging; a Radio Pharmacy Laboratory; and Nuclear Medicine Therapy Unit.
The new services will reduce wait times, improve quality of care, and lead to improved patient outcomes. Nuclear medicine is a specialised area of radiology that uses very small amounts of radioactive materials, or radiopharmaceuticals, to examine organ function and structure. Nuclear imaging enables visualisation of organ and tissue structure as well as function.
Dr Maryam al-Kuwari, chief radiologist, Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, HMC said: “Nuclear medicine scans are used to diagnose many medical conditions and diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurological diseases. It is important that we have the very latest state-of-the-art equipment in order to diagnose diseases with accurate precision, because different types of nuclear medicine equipment are designed for use in conjunction with specific radioisotopes for a variety of imaging purposes.”
“The installation of a second PET/CT at the Nuclear Medicine Department will assist our cardiologists in selecting the right patients for intervention and invasive procedures. Patients with cancer and coronary artery diseases in Qatar will also receive improved high standards of care upon the completion of these new state-of-the-art installations. The second PET/CT will also allow our teams to undertake more PET/CT exams in oncology, thereby reducing the wait time for patients and allowing timely treatment,” added, Dr al-Kuwari.
The availability of PEM will improve sensitivity for the detection of recurrence in breast cancer patients post-surgery and radiotherapy. The use of the PEM will also improve the screening of breast cancer in females with equivocal conventional mammography and inconclusive MRI exams and those with dense breasts. Also, the modern Radio Pharmacy Laboratory will achieve international standards for radiation safety and quality control in nuclear medicine which is an important aspect for attaining professional accreditation.
The new hybrid imaging SPECT/CT Scanner will improve diagnostic accuracy by fusing functional images from nuclear medicine and structural images from conventional CT in the same scan session. This is now the standard of care for localisation and characterisation of functional abnormalities. HMC is now in line with recommendations of international professional organisations.
The new services demonstrate the department’s commitment to deliver international standards and to prove the best clinical imaging services for early detection and diagnosis of diseases in Qatar.
HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari with HMC officials at the launch of the new services
They include a second Positron Emission Tomography Scanner; a second hybrid imaging SPECT/CT Scanner; Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) imaging; a Radio Pharmacy Laboratory; and Nuclear Medicine Therapy Unit.
The new services will reduce wait times, improve quality of care, and lead to improved patient outcomes. Nuclear medicine is a specialised area of radiology that uses very small amounts of radioactive materials, or radiopharmaceuticals, to examine organ function and structure. Nuclear imaging enables visualisation of organ and tissue structure as well as function.
Dr Maryam al-Kuwari, chief radiologist, Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, HMC said: “Nuclear medicine scans are used to diagnose many medical conditions and diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurological diseases. It is important that we have the very latest state-of-the-art equipment in order to diagnose diseases with accurate precision, because different types of nuclear medicine equipment are designed for use in conjunction with specific radioisotopes for a variety of imaging purposes.”
“The installation of a second PET/CT at the Nuclear Medicine Department will assist our cardiologists in selecting the right patients for intervention and invasive procedures. Patients with cancer and coronary artery diseases in Qatar will also receive improved high standards of care upon the completion of these new state-of-the-art installations. The second PET/CT will also allow our teams to undertake more PET/CT exams in oncology, thereby reducing the wait time for patients and allowing timely treatment,” added, Dr al-Kuwari.
The availability of PEM will improve sensitivity for the detection of recurrence in breast cancer patients post-surgery and radiotherapy. The use of the PEM will also improve the screening of breast cancer in females with equivocal conventional mammography and inconclusive MRI exams and those with dense breasts. Also, the modern Radio Pharmacy Laboratory will achieve international standards for radiation safety and quality control in nuclear medicine which is an important aspect for attaining professional accreditation.
The new hybrid imaging SPECT/CT Scanner will improve diagnostic accuracy by fusing functional images from nuclear medicine and structural images from conventional CT in the same scan session. This is now the standard of care for localisation and characterisation of functional abnormalities. HMC is now in line with recommendations of international professional organisations.
