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 Canadian
Medical Association Journal
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Private PET-scanning clinic opens in Vancouver
The first private positron-emission tomography (PET) scanning clinic in Canada offering full-body scans is open for business in Vancouver. The PETscan Centre, located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, is owned by International PET Diagnostics Inc., a BC company led by architect Denis Tusar. It is currently open 2 days per week and charges $2500 per scan. It has an annual capacity of 2000 patient scans, and the owners expect it will be operating at full capacity — 5 days per week — by year's end. The scans are used to diagnose diseases such as cancer and to conduct brain-related research. There are currently 5 of the machines in Canada. "We could soon [surpass] the abilities of 1 scanner," says Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, CEO of the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA). The opening of the private facility follows unsuccessful attempts by the BCCA and Vancouver Hospital to convince the province to fund a public centre. The PET scanner plus the cyclotron unit to manufacture the radioactive compound needed to produce the scan costs about $6 million. Operating costs for the cyclotron are about $1.5 million annually. Sutcliffe says the PET scanner is particularly useful in diagnosing certain types of cancer, particularly cancer of the lung, breast and colon, as well as lymphoma. The main advantage of the machines is their superior imaging clarity. Sutcliffe says PET scanners will almost certainly replace some other types of investigation currently used in the management of cancer patients. — Heather Kent, Vancouver
Copyright 2001 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors |
