Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved Rs 150 crore for establishment of a state-of-the-art Medical Cyclotron unit at the Tata Memorial Cancer (TMC) hospital being established in the NISER campus at Jatni in Khurda district.
A Medical Cyclotron is necessary for production of radioactive isotopes required for critical imaging procedures such as the PET scan
for treatment of cancers and other critical ailments. Presently, Odisha has to obtain the isotopes on a daily basis from Hyderabad, Mumbai or Kolkata and as the isotopes remain effective for only a few hours, transportation time makes it reach limited to few
centres.
The proposed state-of-the-art Medical Cyclotron facility will be unique to the entire South East Asian region. It will be operated by
NISER in close collaboration with TMC, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata, Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology, Department of Atomic Energy and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
The major roles of this international standard facility include production of medically useful radioisotopes, skill development of human resources for applied science courses and training of under-graduate and post-graduate students. It will also serve as South East Asian regional facility for the research and development in the area of nuclear medicine and national facility for the research and development in the areas of basic sciences.
As a result, Odisha will become a hub for research and applications of Medical Cyclotron in the entire South East Asian region.
