The department of Nuclear Medicine of Bombay Hospital has set up two new scanning procedures in collaboration with the Radiopharmaceuticals Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) using indigenously produced radiopharmaceuticals for imaging brain diseases and cancer. Till now the radiopharmaceuticals had to be imported and patients had to wait for long time. With the production of the new radiopharmaceuticals indigenously by BARC, these scanning procedures can be done everyday and the cost is low.
The two techniques are: DAT Scan and HYNIC-TOC Scan. The former is a brain scanning technique in which radiopharmaceutical is injected intravenously and image of brain is obtained after four hours. It is used for diagnosing Parkinson’s disease when MRI is negative or inconclusive. It helps in detecting the areas of the brain which are affected in Parkinson’s disease. It also helps in assessing the effect of treatment.
HYNIC-TOC scan is a whole body scanning technique in which radiopharmaceutical is injected intravenously and whole body images are obtained after four hours and are used for diagnosis of neuroendocrine cancers. The existing techniques depend on importing the radiopharmaceuticals and are expensive. This new technique is indigenously produced by BARC and the product can be formulated every day at the nuclear medicine department using ready-to-use kits supplied by BARC and hence patients need not wait long. It is also not expensive and is useful in deciding which patient of neuroendocrine cancer will be benefit from isotope therapy.
Dr BA Krishna, Head of the department of Nuclear Medicine of Bombay Hospital said that the clinical studies have been set up by the department’s technical staff in collaboration with BARC scientists. The technique has been standardised and nine patients of Parkinson’s disease and eight patients of neuroendocrine cancers have been scanned so far with excellent quality images.
Dr MRA Pillai, Head of Radiopharmaceuticals Division, BARC said that he is satisfied that the clinical studies done with the products developed by BARC are giving excellent images. These products have been recently cleared by the adiopharmaceuticals Committee (RPC) and BARC will start manufacturing the products in larger scale to make it available for all Nuclear Medicine departments in the country.
EH News Bureau