Over 500 nuclear medicine facilities available in govt, private sector: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, July 30 More than 500 nuclear medicine facilities are available in the government and private sectors, Union Minister of State for Department of Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh informed the Parliament on Wednesday.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Singh shared information on nuclear energy’s potential to be applied in the health sector for advanced treatment of various ailments.

“Nuclear medicine can be practiced in both diagnostics and therapeutics. In India, Single Photon Emission Computerised Tomography (SPECT), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and Computerised Tomography (CT) are the devices through which diagnostic nuclear medicine is practiced,” Singh said.

“These help in staging, restaging, and response evaluation of cancer. There is availability of nuclear medicine facilities in the country in both the government and private sectors. There are more than 500 such facilities available,” he added.

Nuclear medicine imaging provides unique information by helping doctors view how organs are functioning, which is different from X-rays or CT scans that show only anatomical structure.

Further, Singh shared that the government has taken several initiatives to augment research and development of nuclear medicine in the country.

“R&D is ongoing in radioisotope production, purification, and development of new technologies to ensure an enhanced and uninterrupted supply of medical radioisotopes in the country," the MoS said.

This includes several indigenously produced radiopharmaceutical products developed at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The products have also been launched for applications like radiation synovectomy, therapy of neuroendocrine tumours, breast cancer, bone pain palliation, liver cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Singh said.

"BARC regularly produces radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals and supplies them through the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) to various nuclear medicine centres across India, enabling broader availability of diagnostic and therapeutic services, including in rural and underserved areas," Singh said.

In addition, Tata Memorial Centre, an aided institute under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Energy, has established P Ramaiah Naidu Shodhika -- an advanced Nuclear Medicine Research and Treatment unit in the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Mumbai.

The facility has 41 hot beds, one of the largest therapeutic nuclear medicine units in the world and was inaugurated in 2023.

It has state-of-the-art facilities for nuclear medicine and basic research.

TMC has also established the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Mahamana Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre at Varanasi, UP. There are 2 PET CT, 1 SPECT CT, High Dose Radioiodine Therapy, and a Theranotic Facility available for the use of nuclear medicine and diagnostic purposes, the Minister informed.

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