NHS Grampian hope to use a new multi-million-pound particle accelerator to improve cancer care and more across the north of Scotland.
The health board agreed yesterday to move forward with plans to replace its ageing cyclotron machine with a more modern £2.1 million replacement.
The advanced medical technology is a vital part of the supply chain of radioactive materials used in positron emission tomography – also known as PET/CT scans – a vital tool used by doctors for the treatment and diagnosis of patients with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
The machine creates a substance known as FDG that flags up healthy and diseased tissue to medical experts.
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s current cyclotron, which has been used by NHS Grampian for around two decades, is nearing the end of its lifespan and will be decommissioned at the start of December.
It will take around three months for the new machine to be fully commissioned and installed, and it is hoped it will be up and running by April 2019.
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Once installed, the new cyclotron will have improved capacity and will broaden the range of services NHS Grampian can offer.
The Scottish Government has allocated the £2.1 million from the National Radiotherapy Programme to procure the new replacement, and local charities including the Friends of Anchor and the Lillian Sutton Foundation have shown interest in supporting and funding upgrades for the project.
Currently, all PET scans are provided for NHS Highland by NHS Grampian, and NHS Tayside’s scanner currently gets the radioactive substance produced which is used for scans from central England.
With the new cyclotron, NHS Tayside will be able to procure this important FDG substance from Aberdeen.
NHS Grampian’s assistant director of finance Garry Kidd explained the difference the new machine could make to a meeting of the health board yesterday morning.
He said: “Not only will this make NHS Grampian self-sufficient in producing this essential product, it will also allow the board to support NHS Tayside, which currently sources its FDG from England.
“Our current cyclotron is now about 20 years old, and is in need of replacement.
“The new model will be able to aid us greatly in both clinical care and research.”
Arrangements have been put in place by NHS Grampian to get the raw materials required for PET/CT scans from Glasgow for several weeks after the old machine is discontinued.
