Caceres will have a nuclear medicine service to treat cancer patients

The service will have three teams (two new and one old) and will make way for a fourth, which will be run later. Specifically, it is about a PEC/CT (positron emission computed tomography), whose Accommodation This newspaper reported a few weeks ago. And two new people and an old one called SPEC + CT (single photon computed tomography). The new device will complement the previous one and will include the latest technology. The old machine, now located in San Pedro de Alcántara, will also be transferred to the Universitario, where a third machine of this type will be added in the future. In addition, the space in which San Pedro de Alcántara is currently located will also be left free for another new team to be acquired later.

Of the three machines that this new district will have, PEC/CT will be the most important because it will be the first time that patients from Caceres health district can undergo this test in their health district. So far they have been referred to Badajoz (she has this equipment Since 2006 And it was Recently renovated), to Salamanca, Madrid or Cordoba. This newspaper also presented Extremadura health service cost 1,683,715 eurosfunded through the Inveat Program to Renew and Expand the Capacity of the National Health System, included in the Recovery, Regeneration and Resilience Program launched by Brussels after Covid.

This type of equipment uses small amounts of radioactive material called radiotracers or radiotracers, a special camera, and a computer to evaluate the functions of tissues and organs. By identifying changes at the cellular level, it can detect early manifestations of the disease earlier than other imaging tests. It is used very frequently in the detection of tumors, as this device allows them to be diagnosed before other tests. But it also represents advances in cardiac, gastrointestinal, endocrine, or neurological disorders.

The other device allows checking the functioning of the organs. So, while imaging tests like X-rays can show what structures inside the body look like, a SPECT scan like this one can produce images that show how the organs are working. To perform this test, it is also necessary to inject a radioactive substance. It is often used to diagnose or monitor brain disorders, heart problems, and bone disorders.

enhance attention

“With the establishment of the new Nuclear Medicine Service, capacity to care for patients in Extremadura has doubled and distances and trips for testing for citizens of Cáceres Province have been reduced”, refers to the health field administration in the report prepared to justify its initiation. The service will be located in the basement of the Universitario, which will have to be adapted for its start-up. The work is complicated, as it requires protecting the space to protect it from the radiation included in the treatments provided with this device.

fact, To write an implementation project, it will be necessary to have a report prepared by a radiological protection service or a radiation protection technical unit approved by the Nuclear Safety Council.which will specify the composition, layout and recommendations on the properties of the materials to be used in order to ensure pollution control.

The service will include a waiting room, a unit for each team, a room for injected patients, another for handling medications, a dispensary, medical consultations, and separate toilets for patients and companions. For patients, a decontamination shower will also be incorporated. The latter will have to evacuate to a certain area of ​​radioactive waste.