High-end PET-CT scan unveiled at GRH for free access by poor patients

Worth Rs 10 crore, the equipment procured by the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation through Public-Private Partnership is a combination of PET scan as well as CT scan.

MADURAI: Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH), on Wednesday, became the first government hospital in Tamil Nadu to house the  Positron Emission Tomography - Computed Tomography (PET-CT) scan that is known for its precision in diagnosis of early onset of cancer and the treatment response in cancer patients. Through this, the poor, especially in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu now have free access to the high-end scan equipment which would otherwise cost them  Rs 25,000 per scan in private hospitals. 

Worth Rs 10 crore, the equipment procured by the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a combination of PET scan as well as CT scan. Before being scanned, the patient ought to fast overnight and minutes before the scan begins, he/she is intravenously injected fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) that act as radioactive tracers. The FDG will be collected in areas of higher metabolic activities and areas with higher FDG concentration will be seen as bright spots on the PET-CT scan. As cancerous cells absorb more glucose than normal cells and thus show a higher metabolic rate, cancerous cells show up as bright spots on the scan.

PET-CT scans are said to be highly effective in detection of early onset of cancer as the multidimensional scan images reveal metabolic changes occurring at the cellular level in an organ or tissue while CT scans or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans can only detect changes in structure of organs.

The equipment is a boon in the diagnosis of early onset of cancer, precise indication of areas affected by cancer or tumours, effectiveness of cancer treatment, recurrence of cancer, central nervous system (CNS)-related disorders including epilepsy, said Nuclear Physician Dr. Boon Mathew. 

PET-scan also aids in identification of areas of decreased blood flow in the heart, helping cardio-thoracic surgeons to decide if angioplasty or bypass surgery was required. 

After a prolonged legal battle at the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court over a Public Interest Litigation seeking installation of the advanced scan equipment at the GRH since 2016 and after recently receiving backlash over the delay in throwing open the equipment to public use, the PET-CT scan at the GRH was inaugurated by the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami through video conferencing from Chennai, on November 6. 

Minister for Health and Family Welfare C Vijayabaskar, Member of Parliament for Madurai constituency S Venkatesan, Managing Director of TNMSC Dr P Umanath, GRH Dean Dr K Vanitha, Medical Superintendent (in-charge) Dr J Sangumani were present at the hospital during the inaugural.

Addressing media persons, Vijayabaskar stated that the advanced scan at the GRH was the first PET-scan to be installed at a government hospital in South India. "Poverty-stricken patients covered under Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) could avail the facility for free while other patients would have to pay a subsidised charge of '11,000, at a time when it costs nearly Rs 25,000 in private hospitals.

Government hospitals at Tirunelveli, Coimbatore, Salem, Thanjavur and Kancheepuram are to get PET-CT scans next year and the PET-CT scan being installed at Chennai is to be inaugurated by the Chief Minister in a couple of weeks," he told.

Further, Vijayabaskar mentioned that to carry out works under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project at Madurai, Rs 291 crore has been allotted, of which Rs 150 crore was meant for infrastructure development and Rs 21 crore-worth Linear Accelerator (LINAC) would soon be installed at the Regional Cancer Centre. The Minister added that 95 CT scans, 28 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans, 9 Linear Accelerators (LINACs) were installed at government hospitals across Tamil Nadu in the last one year.
 

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