CANCER patients in the Auckland region will soon have ready access to leading-edge diagnostic technology to guide life-saving treatments, thanks to a new cancer research, diagnosis and treatment facility.
The University of Auckland, Mercy Radiology and imaging technology and solutions provider Siemens Healthcare have announced a three-year plan to install two world-class scanners and a radio-isotope production machine in the city.
The first stage of the project will be the establishment of a Positron Emission Tomography — CT (PET-CT) scanner at Mercy’s Epsom site in mid-2010.
A second PET-CT scanner will be installed at the University in approximately 18 months and the radio-isotope producer, termed a Cyclotron, is also planned for 2011.
According to Mercy Radiology director Dr Andrew Wong, the technology is long overdue in Auckland.
The scanner is a significant advancement on existing diagnostic technology because it enables the identification of the presence of cancers, and particularly their progress, to be assessed much more accurately, he says.
Until now, patients in the Auckland region requiring that kind of diagnosis had to travel to Wellington or Australia, which was extremely stressful and costly for the patients and their families, he says.
Wong says the total cost of purchasing and installing the scanners and Cyclotron will be around NZ$20 million.
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