New Eastern Health cyclotron aims to help more patients get PET scans

A multimillion-dollar piece of medical equipment will soon befully operational in Newfoundland and Labrador, helping to ease supply concerns for pharmaceuticals needed for medical imaging in the Eastern Health region.

The device, called a cyclotron, is used to make radiopharmaceuticals used in diagnostic testing with a PET positron emission tomography scanner. Once fully operational, the machine will produce a radioactive material calledfluorodeoxyglucose,known as FDG.It's used to help give doctors a clearer picture in a PET scan.

The cyclotron was installed three years agoand needed to be placed in an underground bunker due to its radioactivity.

Dr. Jeffrey Flemming, Eastern Health's clinical chief of nuclear medicine, said the health authority needed to get through a lot of red tape to be able to operate such as a licence from theCanadian Nuclear Safety Commission and approval from Health Canada but they are ready to begin local production of FDG.

"Friday will be our first clinical production, but it will take us some time to ramp up our supply from here until we're not reliant at all anymore on outside FDG," he said.

Flemming said the cyclotron will help create a local source for FDG, as the material previously needed to be shipped in from other provinces. He said this created transportation challenges, as the half-life ofFDG is just under two hours.

"We've had issues with transportationat every point along that process. From transportation to the airport in Toronto or Montreal to the flight itself, or transportation here," Flemming said.

"These are things that are just inherent in running a program in this wayso there's no question that that has resulted in cancellations and rebookings."

Local FDG a 'significant advantage,'experts say

Dr. Peter Hollett,Eastern Health's formerclinical chief of nuclear medicine, said the cyclotron will help patients in cancer treatment, as PET scans are often used to help doctors find cancerous tumours.

"It depends a little bit by tumour type, but anywhere from 30 to 50 per cent of cancer patients will have their management altered by this use of technology," he said. "Which is a staggering number."

"It changes people from being surgically treated versus chemotherapy, or one form of chemotherapy to another. It's a definite advantage, and a significant change in how we manage these patients."

Health Minister John Haggiesaid the addition will help more people stay in the province for PET scans, while also helping the province's medical community.

"From a scientific point of view, this is, in many ways, a magnet," Haggie said.

"It will attract high-quality, high-calibre researchers. It will attract medical physicists in a way that will enable the scientific community here to benefit in spinoff ways."

Flemming said his team is most looking forward to a reliable FDG supply, and hopes to be independent from other provinces sometime in 2021. He said the cyclotron will allow more people in the province to get PET scans and limit the number of cancelled appointments.

"The main issue is calling patients and rebooking them.Those are very stressful conversations to have for our patients and our staff," he said.

"It's not going to eliminate that requirement, it will just make it far less likely."

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