Chulalongkorn unveils latest scanner
A doctor feeds a patient into the PET-CT scanner, which is said to be the latest technology in molecular imaging, at the newly opened PET-CT Centre at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.
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With the aim of enhancing diagnosis and treatment of diseases - particularly common cancers - state-run King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital unveiled its latest hi-tech scanner yesterday.
The hospital, which also serves as Chulalongkorn University's medical school, spent Bt120 million on what it described as a top-of-the-range medical scanning machine using Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography, or PET/CT. "The combination of PET, which helps identify, for example, cancerous cells at the molecular level; and CT, allows us to locate exactly where the problematic cells are," said Assoc Prof Tawatchai Chaiwatanarat, a specialist in clinical nuclear medicine. The device can pick up tumours as small as one centimetre in diameter, he added. The PET technique works by detecting signs of abnormally high energy consumption by a cell. It is believed that cancerous cells have high energy consumption. The scanning process takes about 30 to 45 minutes, said Tawatchai, adding that the decision on whether a particular patient needs this type of scan should be made by the doctor treating the patient with a recommendation by a medical specialist. Although it is highly efficient at detecting cancer at an early stage, a PET/CT scan is of most benefit to a patient known to have a cancer, when their doctor needs to have a picture of where and how much the cancer has spread, said Assoc Prof Kris Chatamra, director of the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer. This scanning technique gives doctors very useful information in the form of a map of where the cancer is so they can accurately and effectively treat it, he said. Requesting a PET/CT scan without a sufficient indicator of the presence of cancer would not be practical given the high cost, said Tawatchai. The cost per scan varies from about Bt60,000 at a state hospital to about Bt80,000 at a private one. Not including maintenance and other costs, the price of the machine was high and the hospital was well aware that financial losses would result, said Prof Pirom Kamolratanaskul, director of the hospital. But the hospital has managed to bear them, he said. "We know it's not going to be cost-effective, but we needed this technology," he said. "As a state hospital and medical school, profit-making is not our priority."
Arthit Khwankhom The Nation
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