Cyclotron and PET-CT Part of $53-M Announced for Nuclear Medicine, Research and Training

Momentum is building for nuclear medicine and engineering research at the U of S with a $23-million announcement for a cyclotron and a PET-CT scanner. This new facility will be part of the $30-million centre of excellence in nuclear studies announced March 2/2011 and will be critical for nuclear medicine, research and training.

What is a cyclotron?

Cyclotrons are used for physics research, advanced materials research, creation of radioactive isotopes for medical imaging, and cancer treatment. A cyclotron uses electricity and magnetic fields to accelerate protons (subatomic particles) to extremely high speeds. The U of S cyclotron will add a third particle accelerator, after the linear accelerator and synchrotron, to the suite of such facilities on the U of S campus.

Training

Having three types of accelerator on campus will provide unparalleled training opportunities for the highly skilled people necessary for these facilities. Their presence will help make the U of S a preferred destination to acquire these skills, which are in high demand across Canada and internationally.

PET-CT Scanning – Production of Isotopes for Patient Care

The cyclotron will make it possible for a positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET-CT) scanner in Saskatchewan. The isotopes used in PET-CT are produced by the cyclotron. Because they decay within hours, the cyclotron must be located near the scanner. While the location is to be determined, the plan is to repurpose existing space on campus to house the cyclotron PET-CT within the next two years.

Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island are the only Canadian provinces without PET scanning facilities. About 300 Saskatchewan cancer patients must travel outside the province every year for the scans. The cyclotron can also be used to investigate other short-lived isotopes that promise to reveal ever clearer pictures of the body’s inner workings.

Patient Care and Medical Research

• The investments announced this week will not only enhance clinical nuclear imaging services in Saskatchewan but will advance nuclear medicine research. This will benefit patients by integrating them into some of the latest clinical research. This will help retain and attract specialized physicians and researchers.
• Elsewhere many PET-CT scans are carried out as part of research studies. About one in six cancer patients are treated under large clinical research studies that look at precisely defining the right combinations and timing of cancer drugs. Being part of these studies often enables patients to access other diagnostic tests, genetic screening, services and follow-up that they would not otherwise have.
• Many clinical trials to test new drug treatments for cancer in both children and adults now require PET-CT imaging so having this scanning program here will mean that Saskatchewan patients will have greater access to the latest treatments still under development.
• With this new program, Saskatchewan will be in a better position to recruit physicians and other researchers in areas such as cancer, dementia, schizophrenia, depression, and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Materials Research

The cyclotron will also make possible research into advanced materials such as for satellites, stress tolerance in plants and animal health research.

Funding

Cyclotron:

• $7 million Government of Canada through Western Economic Diversification.
• $7 million Government of Saskatchewan (capital)
• $3 million Government of Saskatchewan (operating funds)

PET-CT Scanner:

• $4 million Government of Saskatchewan
• $2 million Royal University Hospital Foundation

Building on Nuclear Research Strengths

The cyclotron PET-CT facility follows a long tradition of nuclear physics and nuclear medicine research and development at the U of S. This includes the country’s first betatron for research and cancer treatment in the 1940s, the first cobalt-60 cancer treatments in the 1950s, and Canada’s first high-energy linear accelerator at the Saskatchewan Accelerator Laboratory in the 1960s (now part of the Canadian Light Source synchrotron).

For more information, contact U of S Research Communications – 966-1425.