Nuclear medicine nowadays plays a pivotal role in healthcare and can help give early diagnosis for patients, and a more localised point for treatment. Owing to rapid innovations in technology, nuclear medicine is increasingly becoming crucial for diagnostics and therapy, particularly for diseases like cancer and thyroid.
Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom subsidiary, Rusatom Healthcare, has emerged as a leader in providing cutting-edge solutions for diagnostics and therapeutics, leveraging Rosatom Global’s vast experience and expertise in nuclear technology and innovation, according to Rusatom Healthcare Project Head Sergey Evdonin.
In a webinar organised by Rosatom last week for journalists from India and Bangladesh, Evdonin noted how nuclear medicine technology is being increasingly adopted across the world and the demand for nuclear medicine products and solutions have seen rapid growth.
As an integrator of radiation technologies for medicine and industry within Rosatom, Rusatom Healthcare offers a range of products with integrated solutions spanning project concept and development, design, construction, and manufacturing, supply and installation of equipment, personnel training, as well as servicing and maintenance.
Elaborating on the products and solutions, Evdonin said that Rusatom offers products and solutions under three broad categories – diagnostic, therapeutic, and integrated solutions for radiopharmaceutical production. In addition to off-the-shelf offerings, the solutions can be optimised and configured as per the needs of the customer, he added.
Highlighting the benefits of diagnostic products, Evdonin said that Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has been proven to improve a number of indicators, including a 5-6 times decrease in the number of cancer recurrences, 15-20 percent increase in the number of detected cancer cases, 30-40 percent quality improvement of cardiovascular disease diagnostics, and 5-30 percent reduction in cancer mortality through appropriate treatment.
Rusatom is also supplying Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) scanners that provide medical imaging using gamma rays.
In the area of therapeutics, Rusatom products are being widely used across the world for radionuclide therapy, radiotherapy, brachytherapy as well as proton and ion beam therapy, the company’s Project Head said.
The company manufactures equipment such as cyclotrons, which produce radiopharmaceuticals. Isotopes are generated in cyclotrons, generators or nuclear reactors. Based on various isotopes, radiopharmaceuticals are produced for molecular imaging, radionuclide therapy and diagnostics. Radionuclide therapy can be used to treat conditions such as hyperthyroidism, thyroid and skin cancers, as well as blood disorders.
Evdonin noted that Rosatom holds 30 percent of the global market share in cobalt-60 isotope, while Rusatom Healthcare supplies isotope products to more than 50 countries in the world enabling diagnosis and treatment of about 2.5 million people every year.
Rusatom also provides integrated solutions for construction of multifunctional treatment centers. Its turnkey offer includes financial, technological and equipment solutions, as well as the education and training of personnel. The company is constructing a cyclotron and radiochemical complex in Thailand under a contract signed in 2017 with the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Research.
In addition to nuclear medicine, Rusatom is providing project solutions for ionising radiation treatment of food, agriculture and medical products, as well as polymer materials. Ionising radiation treatment helps in reducing food wastage by extending shelf life, as well as through pest control. Similarly, the radiation treatment for medical products guarantees a complete biological inactivation of bacteria contained in them, with no residual radioactivity.
With regard to opportunities in India of using nuclear technology for non-energy generation purposes, Edvonin said that Rusatom is going to cooperate with local companies for delivery of high technology solutions in medicine which will greatly enhance the efficiency of diagnostics, especially in oncological cases. Nuclear technology can play a major role in reducing the agricultural produce waste, which is quite high in India, through ionising radiation treatment, he added.
Concluding the webinar, Evdonin noted that Rosatom has drawn on more than 70 years of experience, expertise and learnings in nuclear technology to supply advanced, safe and effective nuclear medicine products and solutions all over the world.
