MEDILINES Distributors Inc. on Monday said it delivered cancer diagnostic equipment to the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao for the center’s new Cancer Diagnostic Institute.
The facility is the largest tertiary hospital under the Department of Health (DOH) that is becoming a world-class facility and the leading provider of health care and training in Mindanao.
The new facility is equipped with three advanced cancer diagnostic equipment–the SPECT/CT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography), PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) and the Medical Cyclotron. These comprise the first complete cancer diagnosis package in Mindanao.
The Molecular Imaging modalities of Siemens Healthineers, Symbia Intevo BOLD SPECT/CT and Biograph mCT PET/CT, complete the imaging needs of the Nuclear Medicine section of the cancer institute.
The Cancer Diagnostic Institute facility was completed last March, with Medilines providing service and support since it start of construction on October 2019.
The diagnostic facility is worth approximately P529 million, with the budget coming from the Office of the President through the Health Facility Enhancement program of the DOH.
The SPMC Cancer Diagnostic Institute was inaugurated last March 25.
“These advanced modalities essentially equip the facility with the most useful diagnostic and/or treatment information for many diseases,” the company said.
Nuclear medicine offers the potential to identify disease in its earliest stage, often before symptoms occur or abnormalities can be detected with other diagnostic tests. It enables the physicians to find, characterize and follow the development of the disease over time.
A SPECT/CT procedure, like a whole-body bone scan, is less expensive and may yield more precise information compared to invasive procedures like exploratory surgery. Once a lesion is detected, a PET/CT procedure may provide additional diagnosis on whether the lesion is benign or malignant, without the need for surgical biopsy. Additionally, both systems provide much needed information for radiotherapy planning. Having both the SPECT/CT and PET/CT within the same roof enables SPMC to deliver quality patient care that focuses on precision medicine and personalized care
The combined capabilities and application of these revolutionary technologies are critical along the clinical journey of cancer patients.
“With its partnership with Medilines, SPMC now has the tools to support their patients at any point in their condition–from detection and comprehension of each patient’s situation to effective and personalized treatment, therapy, monitoring, and even to restaging and follow-ups for those in remission,” the company said. VG Cabuag