Scotland’s first total-body scanner - set to accelerate drug development and diagnosis for patients - is now in operation at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
With scans up to 40 times more sensitive than existing machines, the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner will capture images of patients’ entire bodies 10 times faster, in more detail and using less radiation than existing scanners.
The Scotland scanner, co-managed by the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, forms part of the National PET Imaging Platform (NPIP), run by the UK’s Medical Research Council, Innovate UK and Medicines Discovery Catapult.
NPIP’s national network, which includes a second scanner in London, will allow clinicians, industry and researchers to collaborate on an international scale.
Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the University’s commercialisation service, will facilitate collaborations, alongside the NPIP.
This expanded network will improve patient care in Scotland, enhancing diagnosis and treatment for cancer and cardiovascular disease as well as exploring new potential applications, such as stroke and endometriosis.
Professor David Newby, of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Cardiovascular Science, Co-Director of the NPIP Scotland Centre, said:
The NPIP Scotland Total-body PET Facility is a transformative technology that has already started to advance clinical research and patient care, improving our understanding of complex diseases.
Through the NPIP network, new collaborative projects will address some of the major unmet health problems that society faces today. ”
The technology will allow industry to trial new drugs in the region and inventors to develop and test world-class AI and diagnostic tools.
It also establishes a platform for the development of new precision radiopharmaceuticals – drugs containing radioactive forms of chemical elements, used in medical imaging and for cancer treatment.
Susan Bodie, EI’s Head of Business Development for the University of Edinburgh’s College of Medicine and Vet Medicine, said:
The total-body PET scanner adds to a critical mass of elements making the Edinburgh Bioquarter a leading life sciences hub: colocation of university teaching and research, the NHS - clinical staff and patients; innovative companies; access to high quality, secure data and state of the art imaging facilities.
We would invite companies wishing to collaborate to get in touch. ”
Pioneering technology
PET scanning is a non-invasive imaging technique that can detect the early onset of disease.
Current PET technology leaves large sections of the human body out of the field of view, requiring the patient to be repositioned multiple times to achieve a full-body view. The new technology can also allow more rapid scanning, increasing the throughput of patients.
Announcing the news, Science Minister, Lord Vallance, said:
Many of the great medical discoveries of the last century have roots in Scotland.
Edinburgh’s new total body scanner will help more patients to live longer, healthier lives through earlier detection, faster diagnoses and more effective treatment in complex illnesses like cancer, dementia and heart disease for years to come.
Backing our top researchers with cutting edge technology will be key to the next medical breakthroughs that improve lives and drive the economic growth at the heart of the UK Government’s Plan for Change. ”
NPIP is funded by a £32m investment from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund.
