IAEA continues supporting Cyclotron and PET-CT development in the Philippines
Supporting the Philippines' initiatives in harnessing the Atom to improve the health and well-being of Filipinos, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continues to send its experts to help improve the country's knowledge and capabilities in the field of nuclear medicine.
Early this January, IAEA expert Mr. Soma Somanesan, Senior Principal Radiation Physicist of the Singapore General Hospital, visited DOST - Philippine Nuclear Research Institute for several lectures on the operation of cyclotrons and Positron Emission Tomography – Computed Tomography (PET-CT) machines, radiopharmaceutical production and quality management.
Cyclotrons produce important radiopharmaceuticals for PET-CT machines, which are used to scan and provide images of organs such as the brain, lungs, kidneys, liver and thyroid. These images are in turn studied by doctors to find any tell-tale signs of particular diseases like cancer.
DOST-PNRI is currently establishing a Nuclear Medicine Research and Innovation Center which will house a cyclotron and several PET-CT scanners, aiming to make earlier diagnosis of various diseases such as cancer more available and affordable to the average Filipinos as well as to serve as a training hub for current and aspiring nuclear medicine practitioners in the country.
