Dr AVelumani, Creator, Nueclear Healthcare, shares his insights about PET-CT, a state-of-the-art imaging technology that allows for screening, diagnosis and monitoring of cancer
CANCER IS perhaps the most devastating word and disease known to mankind. Known from the times of ancient Egyptians, cancer has so far eluded understanding and remains largely uncured till this day. It leaves in its wake debilitating pain, severe physical and mental trauma, and financial ruin – not only for those suffering from it but also for their loved ones.
India, with a population of over 130 crore people, has had to bear its share of misery and despair caused by cancer – every year, 7 lakh new cases are registered in our country, and more than 70 percent of these cases die because of late detection. Many cases are not even registered because of the speed of the disease.
When detected early, localised cancers can be managed and treated. They can be surgically excised, and the patients can be regularly monitored.
PET-CT is a state-of-theart imaging technology that allows for screening, diagnosis and monitoring of cancer and helps in improving clinical outcomes and survival rates.
This technology is heavily under-penetrated in India – we have <200 PET-CTs in India, mostly concentrated in metro cities. India needs more than 1,000 machines spread across the country – The global WHO standard is 1 PET-CT Scanner per 500,000 people.
PET-CT – A history
While the CT scanner was invented in the 1972 and the first Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scanner was developed in 1974. More than 25 years passed before Davis Townsend and Ronald Nutt built and installed the first PET-CT system at the University of Pittsburgh in 1998.
The first commercial systems were made available in 2001, in which year the PET-CT scan was recognised by the TIME magazine on its cover as perhaps the most important medical invention over the previous decade.
In India, the first PET-CT was installed at the Radiation Medicine Centre of BARC in Mumbai.
This story is from the January 2018 edition of Express Healthcare.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2018 edition of Express Healthcare.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Healthcare Communication In India
Dr Alexander Thomas, President, Association of Healthcare Providers - India (AHPI) and Divya Alexander, Research Consultant, in a first of a series provide detailed insights on healthcare communication that explores its different aspects in an Indian context
The growth story
Himanshu Baid, Managing Director, Poly Medicure elucidates on how Poly Medicure has served the medical fraternity for over 22 years and owns more than 215 patents and continues to file new patents for new technologies and devices they are developing with the help of its R&D team
Main objective of Indian Joint Registry is to help patient safety, bring stability to the market
In the wake of several patients suffering from the impact of faulty hip implants, it is vital that India has a national joint registry to track such patients and avoid future episodes. Richard Armstrong, Head, Health Registries, Northgate Public Services tells Viveka Roychowdhury about the response to the Indian Joint Registry
UNDERSTANDING THE RELEVANCE OF HEALTHCARE RESEARCH
India as a nation has followed the west for decades when it comes to research-based treatments. The sun is fast setting on this methodology and there is a massive need to invest in healthcare research in the country
I have witnessed the steady technical advances in ultrasound
Dr BS Rama Murthy, Consultant Radiologist, Srinivasa Ultrasound Scanning Centre and Chief Patron, Medical Ultrasound Society of Karnataka, Coordinator – Fetal Foundation of India, talks about the evolution of ultrasound and how foetal imaging has improved over the years, in an interaction with Express Healthcare
Radiology has a bright future and has been at the forefront of healthcare
Radiology has a major role to play when it comes to healthcare. Dr Piyush Saxena, Consultant Radiologist and Chief of MR imaging, Vishesh Hospital and Diagnostics, Indore, MP in an exclusive conversation with Express Healthcare disscuses the impact of radiology on healthcare and how newer innovations from GE Healthcare has helped improve healthcare delivery as well as patient comfort
The Pill For India's Ailing Medical Eductaion System
Medical education in India is mired with a host of controversies and is trudging along a rough path.
RED INITIATIVE - Canon Medical / Erbis Engineering conducts CME programmes on CTO-PCIs in Chennai
Invites renowned Japanese cardiac interventionist, Dr Kinzo Ueda to India to share his experiences and insights with cardiologists at Apollo Hospitals and Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research
Roche Diagnostics partners with SRL Dr Avinash Phadke Lab
Roche’s first partner for cobas pro solution is SRL Dr Avinash Phadke Lab in Mumbai. The solution promises to offer greater automation, flexibility and simplified workflow to support better clinical outcomes for patients
Pharmacogenomics- Essential to end the era of trial and error medicine
Chandni Luthra, Co-Founder, FutureMed elucidates on the impact that trial and error has had on patients earlier, but in today's age adverse drug reactions is considered to be the fourth leading cause of death worldwide and has almost doubled in India in the last three years
