New PET scan machine at PGI to be functional by Feb-end

Chandigarh, January 17

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With the functioning of a third PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan machine at the PGIMER, the waiting period for the test will reduce to nearly two weeks.

With two PET scan machines, the hospital has not been able to cater to the huge rush of patients, resulting in a long waiting time of nearly two to three months for outpatients. “By February-end, the machine will be pressed into service,” said Dr BR Mittal, Head, Department of Nuclear Medicine. The order for Rs 14-crore machine was placed and final touches are being given to the new building being constructed adjacent to the PET scan centre.

The PGIMER will be the first hospital in the country to have three PET scan machines. All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, have two machines each.

It normally takes 30-40 minutes to conduct a scan, but the time taken also depends on which part of the body needs to be scanned. In the present infrastructure, nearly 40-50 scans are conducted every day. — TNS