Digital PET-CT for cancer patients comes to Kolkata

Kolkata: The first digital positron emission tomography (PET)-CT scan facility that will restrict radiation exposure and reduce scan time from 30 to 5 minutes is all set to come to the city. This latest technology is useful for cancer care patients. This initiative along side the establishing of a medical college was among the announcements made by Ruby General Hospital on Wednesday on the eve of 30th anniversary.
"The patient will receive only one-third of the dose of radiation. It will also give enhanced picture clarity," said gynaecologist Kamal K Dutta, founder chairman of the hospital.

While the installation of the machine is underway, it is likely to start operating by June. A state-of-the-art radiotherapy machine, the Varian TrueBeam Linear Accelerator, which has an advanced mapping system of the cancer tumour for precise radiation treatment, was inaugurated on Wednesday. "Our primary goal is quality affordable care. Now we are exploring opportunities to open a medical college," said Dutta.
The hospital, with 350 beds, will have a total of 500 beds by the end of this year. The hospital runs initiatives with organisations like the Missionary of Charity and Adyapaeth Ashram.
"By 2026, we will have a complete cancer unit, and we plan to bring the latest diagnostic and therapeutic technology, including digital PET-CT, linac accelerator, and brachytherapy," said Sudipta Mitra, CEO of Peerless Hospital.
Director of Medica Oncology, Sourav Datta, said they were planning to launch next-generation sequencing technology that could aid cancer care at molecular level. "We recently introduced surface-guided radiation therapy that helps precise targeting of radiation beams," said Soma Mukhopadhyay, director, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Cancer Hospital.