MURCIA. The Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca in Murcia advances in the expansion works of the Nuclear Medicine Servicer for the installation of a second PET-TAC digital“which will increase the number of patients served and the quality of services offered”, as indicated by the Minister of Health, Juan Jose Pedreño during your visit to this service.
Positron emission tomography makes it possible to obtain images and evaluate the functionality of tissues and organs by injecting small amounts of radiopharmaceuticals.
This service is aimed exclusively at the diagnosis and follow-up of the response to treatments, mainly tumors, and also for the diagnosis of dementia and other neurological conditions, cardiac function studies or infectious-inflammatory processes, both in the adult and pediatric population.
The digital technology of the state-of-the-art PET-CT equipment incorporates advances that offer better image quality and, therefore, more precise diagnoses, even in earlier phases and that result in a better choice of treatment and response monitoring, and changes in management, if necessary, what has been called ‘personalized medicine’.
It also means a reduction in the required dose, with greater radioprotection for the patient and the professionals and less time to carry out the tests, which is why it not only increases the number of patients seen in each shift, but also the possibility of carrying out studies more complex or with greater demand for team time, as is the case with research projects or other radiopharmaceuticals.
Currently, the Nuclear Medicine Service of the Virgen de la Arrixaca hospital performs some 5,520 PET-CT studies per year. With the installation of a second PET with digital technology, the aim is to reduce the waiting lists for oncological patients, the delay in urgent examinations of patients admitted to the different areas for which they are referred, and to improve the coverage and delay of non-oncological examinations. .
The second PET is financed by European funds from the Investment Plan for High Technology Equipment (INVEAT) of the National Health System. The SMS finances the work and installation of the PET, which will be completed in the summer of 2023 with a total investment of 643,000 euros. To this must be added the installation of the equipment, which is around 120,000 euros.
The Arrixaca nuclear medicine service provides services to Health Area I itself and to Areas IV, V, VI, VII and IX.
Hospital radiopharmaceuticals and cyclotron
The location in Murcia of a cyclotron is a great advantage, especially for the care of cancer patients. Its function is the production of radiopharmaceuticals, radioactive liquid substances that are used for the diagnosis and therapy of different conditions. In the cyclotron, stable non-radioactive molecules are bombarded with highly energetic particles, giving rise to a radiopharmaceutical.
The radiopharmaceutical is injected into the patient in the PET and, depending on the distribution of the drug visualized by tomographic images, it is possible to map the physiological alteration. Radiopharmaceuticals entail great specificity and efficiency in diagnosis and adjustment of treatment, and higher success rates.
Thirteen professionals work in the Murcian cyclotron, including pharmacists, biologists, chemists and technical personnel, producing three radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis: Gluscan and Cholscan, for oncological diagnosis; and Dopaview, for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
Due to the expiration of the product, between ten and twelve hours, the distance is a limiting factor for its distribution and use, which is why the production of radiopharmaceuticals in Murcia represents a clear advantage for patients. From the cyclotron located in the Arrixaca facilities, it also serves the Santa Lucía hospital, the Valencian Community, Andalusia, Madrid and, occasionally, Catalonia and Aragón.
As a place that produces radiopharmaceuticals, it is authorized by the Spanish Medicines Agency (AEMPS) and by the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN), and is subject to annual inspections that ensure its proper functioning.
