Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation’s Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine section under clinical Imaging is organising a week-long of activities to mark this year’s World Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Week to educate and make the public aware of the importance and availability of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging services at HMC.
This campaign also seeks to celebrate a great milestone in the history of the modality as this year marks 40 years of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging service in the country.
To educate the public about the important role of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging in patients’ care, information booths have been set up at Ambulatory Care Centre and National Centre for Cancer Care. Other vital information such as available services in the department and how to access Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at HMC will be offered to hospitals’ visitors and staff.
Dr. Maryam Al Kuwari, Chief Radiologist for Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, said: “Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging section under Clinical Imaging is committed to providing the best possible service to patients. Though we aim to assist as many patients as possible as we are the only provider of these services in the country, we do not compromise on the quality and clinical value of our work; hence we always strive for high quality work which is of greater benefit to the patients. We do all of this while keeping up with international standards of practice and seeking to achieve the vision and goals of Clinical Imaging and HMC. The clinical importance of this modality cannot be emphasized enough as it plays a major role in the diagnoses and treatment of patients.”
HMC is currently the only provider of Nuclear Medicine services for both adults and children in Qatar.
According to Dr. Al Kuwari, 1983 was the year the Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging started in Qatar. “It was in this year that the first Nuclear Medicine Department was established in Qatar at Hamad General Hospital (HGH) where it was previously a dental department. The first gamma camera installed was a single head gamma camera operated by two technologists and 1 Nuclear Medicine physician reporting the scans with an average of four patients daily,” she recalled.
Dr. Maryam Al Kuwari said that since the historic opening of Nuclear Medicine in the country 40 years ago, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging has seen tremendous growth with the upgrade and expansion of services into other hospitals such as National Centre for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR).
Today the modality has a dedicated Nuclear Cardiac service in NCCCR for the diagnoses of conditions such as myocardial infarction and ischemia with an average of 2000 patients annually since 2015.
