The country’s science and technology sector has stepped forward through the installation of two PET-CT with one cyclotron facilities at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU) and one PET-CT machine at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) located on the campus of Dhaka Medical College.
Science and Technology Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman said this while speaking as the chief guest at the installation of the machinery program under the project titled ‘Establishment of PET-CT with Cyclotron Facilities’ held at BSMMU on Sunday.
Architect Yeafesh Osman said, “It is a great innovation in the development of the country. We are working relentlessly to take the science and technology sector forward. With cyclotron facilities, PET-CT continues to make groundbreaking contributions to cancer treatment in Bangladesh.”
Special guest Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Pro- Vice-Chancellor Prof. AKM Mosharraf Hossain said, “We hope that people from abroad will come to our country after ten years to seek quality treatment. The beginning of which is the placement of this cyclotron and PET-CT machines. We also want this device to be installed in every district within the next five years. ”
President, Prof. Dr. Md. Sanwar Hossain said, “With this, we no longer have to go abroad to diagnose complex diseases including cancer. For this, we all have to work together to provide international quality services. ”
Project Director Prof. Dr. Md. Nurul Islam, showed a video on the medical and research facilities created under the project. He said, “Under the project, two PET-CT machines and 1 cyclotron machine with radiochemistry have been installed in Ninmas Dhaka. In addition, one Pet-City machine has been installed at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), DMC.”
Chairman of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Prof. Dr. Md. Sanwar Hossain presided over the meeting. Member of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (Biology) Prof. Dr. Ashok Kumar Pal, Director of National Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (NINMAS) Prof. Dr. Shamim Mumtaz Ferdousi Begum, Ministry of Science and Technology, various institutions of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, authorities of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and about 300 guests from different hospitals were also present on the occasion.
The full form of PET is Positron Emission Tomography and the full form of CT is Computed Tomography. PET scans only provide images / information of areas where cells are more active; CT scans, on the other hand, provide fine-grained structural and positional information / images of a place. A combination of these two state-of-the-art technologies provides a fusion image at the same time. The information / images obtained through this test help the doctor to diagnose the disease without any painful tests and surgery and start the treatment quickly.
Cyclotron is a wonderful discovery in science where radioactive substances are made for human medicine and research through nuclear reactions. Cancer is being diagnosed in various patients using the radioactive substance 18F-FDG produced by the IBA Cyclone 18/9 MeV cyclotron installed in Ninmas. Cyclotrons can be used to diagnose and treat other diseases of the human body.
With the installation of this cyclotron, cancer treatment has become available to the people of Bangladesh. The installation of this cyclotron machine has reduced the rate of patients going abroad for cancer treatment and saved a lot of foreign currency.
