{"id":22958,"date":"2022-07-05T15:45:28","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=22958"},"modified":"2022-07-05T15:45:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T10:00:34","slug":"jamaica-opens-its-first-public-nuclear-medicine-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/jamaica-opens-its-first-public-nuclear-medicine-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Jamaica Opens Its First Public Nuclear Medicine Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new nuclear medicine centre that will provide life-saving diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases has opened in Jamaica, with the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under its\u00a0Rays of Hope<\/a>\u00a0initiative launched earlier this year to help countries fight cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s first such public centre is located in the University Hospital of the West Indies in the capital Kingston and will help with the management of cancer and other diseases \u2013 including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases \u2013 that are responsible for the deaths of\u00a0seven out of ten<\/a>\u00a0Jamaicans.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it has more than 7000 new cancer cases per year, Jamaica has until now operated only four teletherapy machines in its public medical facilities and no nuclear medicine facilities. Patients, including those with prostate, lung, and colorectum cancer \u2013 the most common types in the country \u2013 can now be diagnosed also in the new centre, which will extend the overall capabilities of the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cNuclear medicine and its support for early diagnosis and treatment can mean a difference between life and death. This facility will benefit citizens of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean – patients can now get cutting-edge care at a fraction of the cost,\u201d said Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the inauguration ceremony on 30 June. \u201cThis will be the only public nuclear medicine in the country \u2013 and it is a result of the teamwork with the International Atomic Energy Agency,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister Holness, who attended the inauguration ceremony at University Hospital, also spoke about the importance of continuing cooperation with the IAEA to provide solutions to sustain the operation of the centre and to maintain the skills of its staff.\u00a0In the future, the facility might also serve as a regional centre providing support to neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, we celebrate a significant milestone in the fight against non-communicable diseases,\u201d said Hua Liu, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation. He also talked about the future cooperation under the IAEA\u2019s\u00a0Rays of Hope<\/a>. \u201cThrough Rays of Hope, we will continue to support the expansion of radiation medicine capacities in Jamaica, in diagnosis as well as treatment, including through support for the development and training of the national cancer care workforce,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the umbrella of the IAEA\u2019s Technical Cooperation Programme, the IAEA provided the new centre with essential equipment such as a SPECT\/CT diagnostic machine, a dose calibrator, equipment for radiopharmacy facilities and phantoms, together with a supply of the material and reagents necessary for nuclear medicine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a part of the assistance, the IAEA has trained staff, including nuclear medicine technologists, radio pharmacists, radiologists, and medical physicists, in clinical applications of nuclear medicine. IAEA experts have also advised the country on how to establish an accredited training programme for nuclear medicine professionals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IAEA\u2019s targeted assistance to Jamaica in this area started in 2014, 12 years after the last existing public nuclear medicine facility closed due to the lack of personnel and resources. Since then, Jamaica has operated two private facilities, which many people cannot afford. The facilities also did not have sufficient capacity for the country\u2019s population of almost three million people.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The safe and secure use of radioactive material necessary for the treatment and diagnosis of patients in the new centre will be overseen by the Hazardous Substances Regulatory Authority (HSRA), the country\u2019s independent regulatory body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

HSRA was\u00a0launched in 2020, as the first fully independent and operational body in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Through the technical cooperation programme, the IAEA provided the HSRA with training, equipment to conduct regulatory functions and guidance to establish a new database for the inventory of radiation sources.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure sustainability and to contribute to the expansion of services, the IAEA will continue to provide Jamaica with assistance including PET\/CT technology, radionuclide therapy, and further training of medical professionals. Such assistance is aligned with Jamaica\u2019s National Development Plan,\u00a0Vision 2030<\/a>. The Plan is built on four strategic goals for the country\u2019s development \u2013 one of which is \u201cA Healthy and Stable Population.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IAEA has six decades of experience in helping countries fight non-communicable diseases including cancer. The assistance provided by the IAEA has enabled many countries including in Latin America and Caribbean to establish and strengthen safe, secure and effective radiation medicine including radiotherapy, radiology and nuclear medicine capabilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new nuclear medicine centre that will provide life-saving diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases has opened in Jamaica, with the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under its\u00a0Rays of Hope\u00a0initiative launched earlier this year to help countries fight cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news","category-techbiz"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3-200x200.jpg",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3-550x312.jpg",550,312,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3-95x65.jpg",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",555,312,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",96,54,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/jamaica-raysofhope3.jpg",150,84,false]},"author_info":{"info":["RevoScience"]},"category_info":"Health<\/a> News<\/a> Tech<\/a>","tag_info":"Tech","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}