PET CT scan and Gamma camera to be commissioned at Tiruchi GH soon

A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT) scan centre with Gamma camera (SPECT) will become functional at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) in Tiruchi by the end of the year, according to official sources.

As per a recent work order issued by Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation, the project is to be executed by Bengaluru-based company Matrix Imaging Solutions India, under the ‘Build, Own and Operate’ model of private-public partnership, which will not create any new expenditure for the State Government.

“The successful bidder (service provider) will have to pay 10% of their monthly collection to the Hospital Maintenance Fund for the utilisation of space, water and electricity,” according to the work order.

Experienced specialists and technicians will be recruited by the service provider.

The period of the contract is initially set at five years. “We have identified a place for the new facility, and since it will emit radiation, stringent precautions will be taken to ensure safety. All the materials used will be approved by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The facility will be designed according to industrial specifications. ‘Hot toilets’ will also be built inside the premises. We expect the centre to be ready by the end of this year,” a senior MGMGH official told The Hindu.

He added that two rooms had been earmarked in the Super-Speciality Block of the hospital to provide easy access to patients from private and public hospitals.

According to the initial price list (applicable to all patients), a whole body PET-CT scan will cost ₹11,000. Other scan prices range from ₹9,200 to ₹6,500.

Gamma camera studies will cost ₹1,200 to ₹12,900. Patients covered by the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme will be scanned on cashless mode with requisite authentication.