Gamma Camera Facility at Safdarjung Hospital

Safdarjung Hospital’s nuclear medicine department will soon have a Gamma Camera machine which will be a boon to cancer patients who can avail this facility for diagnostic tests, instead of approaching private centers. The Gamma camera machine, which is more precise and less expensive, will be ready next month making this the second government-run hospital after AIIMS to have this facility.

"The nuclear medicine department's Gamma Camera machine will be operational from next month. Our hospital receives the maximum number of patients including cancer patients from within the city and neighbouring states. With this machine at our disposal, it will be a relief for many," NK Mohanty, Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung hospital, said.

The machine helps make an early diagnosis of cancer and is more advantageous than the X-Ray machine and the Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanning machine.

"It can trace cancer in the bones and is used for thyroid, brain and kidney scanning. It can detect bone damage throughout the skeleton either due to cancer, infection, or others causes. One of the areas that it has been a big success is in the early detection of breast cancer. It can be used successfully for the majority of present-day radioactive-isotope scanning techniques," he said.

"Earlier we refereed our patients to private diagnostic centres and AIIMS for getting a test that required Gamma Cameras. Now from next month they will get it done on the hospital premises.” he added.

Source-Medindia