Medical advance: A high-tech piece of scanning equipment used in the investigation of cancer, memory loss and heart disease was officially unveiled at Dublin's Mater hospital complex yesterday.
The PET/CT scanner is only the second to be installed in the State and has been funded by way of public-private partnership.
The only other PET/CT scanner available to patients in the State up to now has been at Dublin's Blackrock Clinic.
However, the Galway Clinic, which opened over a year ago, said yesterday it too was in the process of commissioning a PET/CT scanner.
Minister for Health Mary Harney unveiled the scanner at a new €5 million diagnostics centre at the Mater complex. It is jointly funded by the Mater private and Mater public hospitals and can cater for up to 100 patients per week.
PET/CT scans assist with the diagnosis of tumours and with tracking the spread of tumours. They can also detect the difference between Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
Mark Moran, chief executive of the Mater Private Hospital, said a PET/CT scan was one of the few diagnostic tests that could have a profound effect on both patient treatment and management, and would make a significant difference to the lives of many patients undergoing cancer treatment.
The scanner can accurately evaluate the extent of cancer to a greater extent than a CT or MRI scan. It will indicate whether surgery is appropriate and can also evaluate the response of a patient's tumour to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy prior to completion of treatment.
A CT scan can only show if a cancer has increased or reduced in size, however, a PET/CT scanner can detect if cancer cells are dead or active.
Meanwhile, Dr Olwyn McWeeney, chief executive officer and medical director of the Galway Clinic, said a PET/CT scanner had just been installed at the Galway Clinic and should be up and running by the middle of December. "It has a huge value in the diagnosis of cancers and can trace the biological activity of a tumour," she said.
She confirmed she has been in discussions with the Health Service Executive Western Area about putting in place an agreement which would allow public patients access the equipment. This would prevent patients from the west, both public and private, having to travel to Dublin for tests, she said.