Many hospitals in southern Vietnam suspend PET/CT scans over cyclotron shutdown

A PET/CT scan is a medical imaging procedure that combines positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scans to create detailed, three-dimensional images of the body's organs and tissues.

PET/CT scans are crucial for diagnosing, staging, and monitoring the treatment of various conditions, including cancer as well as cardiovascular and neurological diseases.

Doctor Pham Thanh Viet, deputy director of Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, announced on Friday last week that the hospital’s cyclotron—the sole facility in the southern region producing and supplying radioactive isotopes for PET/CT scans—has stopped functioning.

The cyclotron, which had been in use for 17 years, has recently experienced continuous technical issues. 

It would be replaced with a modern cyclotron, but the upgrade process is expected to take around six months.

For years, this cyclotron supplied radioactive isotopes for PET/CT scans to Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, and Military Hospital 175 in Ho Chi Minh City, along with Kien Giang Oncology Hospital in the namesake southern province.

During the shutdown, it is no longer able to provide isotopes for these hospitals, forcing all of them to suspend PET/CT scan services.

Doctor Diep Bao Tuan, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, confirmed that both of the hospital’s PET/CT machines have halted operations owing to the shutdown of the cyclotron.

At the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, more than 10 patients per day are typically referred for PET/CT scans. 

In the absence of PET/CT availability, doctors may resort to alternative imaging methods such as CT, MRI, or bone scintigraphy, depending on each case.

However, for patients who specifically require PET/CT scans, travel to Da Nang is now necessary to access the service.

The Oncology Hospital is working on a proposal to build a new cyclotron facility within its premises.

At Cho Ray Hospital, over 10 patients per day were being referred for PET/CT scans prior to the shutdown, according to Dr. Viet.