The medical center is included in the National Plan for Nuclear Medicine. It will specialize in the treatment of oncological diseases through the most advanced techniques of radiotherapy and radiosurgery.
The advanced Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy Center “Dr Néstor Kirchner” has first-class equipment that will allow diagnosis in the areas of cardiology, neurology and oncology, as well as the comprehensive treatment of various pathologies.
It is divided into two: on the one hand, the Nuclear Medicine area, destined for the production of radiopharmaceuticals and determination by means of PET studies (Positron Emission Tomography). On the other hand, there is the Radiotherapy sector with equipment already installed and awaiting validation, “near to be inaugurated”.
The objective of this center is to guarantee equitable access to quality treatments and early diagnoses to the entire population through this public health policy, and all resources will be made available and efforts to achieve it will be maximized, said the manager of the Center of Nuclear Medicine, Martín Mutuberria.
He pointed out that it will be strategic for the entire region and patients who move to Formosa, seeking to ensure equity and accessibility for the entire population.
Regarding the Radiotherapy service, the linear accelerators have a maximum daily operating capacity of up to 70 patients each, while the High dose rate brachytherapy equipment has 100,000 cycles in five years (which is the life cycle of cobalt-60 source) so you might theoretically have up to seven patients per day receiving 10-channel interstitial treatment or 24 patients per day for treatment with a three-channel applicator.
It is also the maximum capacity of the equipment, the number of patients to be treated daily depends first of all on the type of treatment and the techniques that are incorporated.
Also, the Center for Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy has an infrastructure and equipment with high quality technology, unique worldwide, Mutuberria highlighted.
equipment
It currently has installed equipment such as the Versa HD brand high-energy linear accelerator with a power of 15mv, the Elekta Synergy high-energy linear accelerator with a power of 6mv, a General Electric simulator tomograph, a High Rate Brachytherapy equipment Dosis (Bebig HDR), a Pimax C-arc team, among others.
There are two main types of radiotherapy, external beam (Teletherapy) and internal or near radiotherapy (Brachytherapy).
External beam radiation therapy comes from linear accelerators and is a local treatment, which means that high-energy rays are directed at the tumor from outside the body. While internal radiation therapy requires the precise placement of the radiation source within or near the tumor in the body.
In a first stage, all this equipment will allow the start of the Radiotherapy service, carrying out different treatments in teletherapy and brachytherapy with various techniques, being able to mainly treat oncological diseases such as gynecological (cervical cancer), rectal (colon cancer), prostate , breast, esophagus, lung, skin and other parts of the body.
In addition, various external radiotherapy techniques can be performed, such as 3D conformal radiotherapy, image-guided radiotherapy, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), stereostatic body radiotherapy (SBRT), radiosurgery, among others.
In a second and third stage, the Nuclear Medicine service will be put into operation, which is currently 80% complete. It will have a General Electric Positron Emission Tomograph (PET) which is a diagnostic technique equipment that allows taking images of the patient’s body that show the activity and metabolism of the body’s organs.
Here it becomes relevant Cyclotronapparatus that generates radiopharmaceuticals, forming radioisotopes, which bind to molecules such as glucose, which seek sites of increased metabolism, for example, tumors.
The specialist doctor in radiotherapy Fernando Trachta explained to Agenfor that “Radiotherapy is one hundred percent finished, waiting for validation, the other is 80% in the building part, the installation of the equipment is missing. The General Electric Positron Emission Tomograph (PET) will be installed first and the Cyclotron a little later”.
In this context, he recalled that “this week we received the brachytherapy source, which has already been transferred to the equipment, the corresponding measurements were made, and they are sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN, for validation).
“This is the part of brachytherapy, a type of radiant treatment that is done with the source in contact with the disease. In this case, it is state-of-the-art equipment, high dose rate brachytherapy, with Cobalt 60, which is a miniaturized source that allows us to reach places that might not be reached before with the largest source, ”he detailed.
It refers to the source of Cobalt-60 (Co-60) for the high-rate brachytherapy equipment belonging to the Center, of German origin and modern design for current standards that will allow gynecological, rectal, prostate, breast, esophageal treatment , skin and other parts of the body.
The doctor assessed that “now we have the possibility of doing the treatment in minutes, which used to take days, the patient was admitted, the procedure was done and she was hospitalized for two to five days according to the dose that one wanted to get, according to the pathology that he had”.
He considered that it is “a change in the paradigm of oncology treatment in Formosa, because leaving people at home for a treatment like this is very important” and explained that there is a big difference between having a family member with cancer treatment miles away than close to home, where he can receive family support.
