State-of-the-art scanner a 'game changer' for RVH cancer patients

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) will soon become the only hospital between Newmarket and Sudbury to offer new state-of-the-art "game-changing" technology for cancer patients.

On Friday, the Ontario government announced nearly $4 million for the Barrie hospital to construct a space in its Medical Imaging department for a new Positron Emission Tomography - Computer Tomography (PET-CT) scanner.

"To have this technology closer to home will be a game-changer for patients. Some cancers can be detected earlier with more precision, allowing clinicians to begin treatment sooner," said RVH President and CEO Janice Skot.

The province will fund nearly $1 million for the hospital to create room for the PET-CT, and Ontario Health will invest $2.7 million for the technology.

"PET-CT is a painless, non-invasive form of molecular imaging that patients in our region have been waiting for," said Dr. Drew Schemmer, RVH Chief of Medical Imaging. "It means we can detect tumours earlier, confirm successful response to therapy, and alter treatment to help patients."

Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie, Ont., announces the future site of a PET/CT scanner on Fri., April 22, 2022. (Dana Roberts/CTV News)

There are currently only 13 of these scanners in Ontario.

Equipping the Barrie hospital with the technology will save cancer patients "countless hours and travel miles."

RVH Chief of Oncology said roughly 600 patients travel to Toronto to access the advanced diagnostic imaging each year.

The hospital's regional cancer care centre opened in 2012, and RVH officials say it has since logged nearly 900,000 patient visits.

They anticipate performing more than 1,000 scans in the first year the PET-CT is operational.

The PET-CT scanner is expected to be operational by the summer of 2023.