Chief Minister approves State-of –the- Art Unit for TMCH

As another leap towards quality cancer care in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved the proposal for establishment of a state-of the-art Medical Cyclotron unit in the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital being established in the NISER campus at Jatni.

State Government would fund upto Rs.150 cr for the purpose. The unit would add to Odisha now becoming a research and applications hub of Medical Cyclotron in the entire South East Asian region.

 Replying to media query about the unit, Secretary Health and Family Welfare Shalini Pandit said, “Medical Cyclotron  unit will produce radioactive  isotopes required for critical imaging procedures such as the PET scan  for treatment of cancers and other critical ailments.  Presently, Odisha obtains the isotopes on a daily basis from  Hyderabad, Mumbai or Kolkata and as the isotopes remain effective for  only a few hours”.  Transportation time also kept its reach limited to few centers.

 She added, that the proposed state-of-the-art Medical Cyclotron facility would be unique to the entire South East Asian region. It would 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”.

 Available information showed, the outcomes of this world class standard facility would include: (i) Production of medically useful radioisotopes, (ii) South East Asian regional facility for the Research and Development in the area of nuclear medicine, (iii) National facility for the Research and Development in the  areas of basic sciences, (iv) Skill development of human resources for  applied science courses, and (iv) Training of Under graduate and Post  graduate students.