At a cost of £1.5million to the Cobalt Appeal and running costs of just over £1million a year our diagnostic centre will be equipped with one of the first of a new generation of medical scanners capable of detecting abnormal developments in clusters of body cells, information which will be vital for advancement in combating many cancers.

This ability to accurately image at a cellular level, before clinical or other signs of disease occur, will offer a significant improvement in diagnosis for many patients.

PET-CT scanning has recently been in the press after the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) published new guidelines to improve lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. Having a PET-CT scan for these patients will help to identify any further spread avoiding the distress of unsuccessful surgery and offer opportunity for appropriate and importantly, precise treatment.

Our Gemini PET/CT scanner is the first open system on the market, designed by Philips to acquire images with patients feeling as comfortable as possible. The systems innovative open design will reduce claustrophobia or anxiety that a patient may feel and provide easier access for our staff and clinicians to them. The Gemini scanner also has the unique capability of completely separating to allow independent operation of either the CT or PET system.