Chandigarh: In an important development that could soon make the painful invasive procedures of identifying infections a thing of the past, researchers at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here have developed a new technique in which the PET-CT scan will help create fast and clear images of infected parts of the body. Generally, deep or multiple infections in internal organs like the heart, skull base and intestines, can give a doctor tough time finding suspected site of infection, then the patient has to go through excruciating process of biopsy. Dr Anish Bhattacharya, additional professor, department of nuclear medicine, PGIMER, has developed a technique in which the specific infected site can be located by whole body PET imaging, avoiding repeated invasive procedures. Under this first-of-its-kind technique, some samples of a patient’s white blood cells are taken, labelled with a radioactive material and re-injected. As a natural defence response of the body, these radio-labelled cells accumulate at the site of active infection and appear as bright collections on the image of the body created by PET-CT scanning. A basic CT scan is also performed simultaneously on the same machine, to provide precise structural details of the affected organ. According to Dr Bhattacharya, it is for the first time in world history that the technique has been used to detect abdomen infection with pancreatitis. Dr Bhattacharya told India Medical Times, “We started doing the research in 2010. In our department, we have a process of labelling cells with isotopes and scan them up to 24 hours. The kit used for the purpose is expensive; it costs about six thousand to seven thousand rupees per person. From here, a novel idea of finding a cheaper and more effective solution to detect infections germinated, which we normally do with the help of a biopsy.” He said, “I looked up to the world medical literature to see if anything in this area has been researched earlier. I found that only two-three studies have been done so far in Belgium and US, and that too on animals. Any information on this technique has not been published after 2006 and the procedures used were complicated.” Dr Bhattacharya further said, “We have used this technique to detect abdominal infection in more than 120 patients with pancreatitis and in total more than 200 patients, if we also take into consideration the orthopaedic and intestinal infections. We found no adverse effects having occurred in any patient.” He added, “We use only 40 ml of blood in comparison to 80 ml of blood used in previous researches. And the best part is that with two hours of injecting the labelled white blood cells, we can see where the infection is and biopsy is further carried if there is any amount of confusion left.” “Developing this technology could not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of my colleagues from departments of gastroenterology, microbiology and radio-diagnosis. Dr B R Mittal, head of the department of nuclear medicine; Dr Sarika Sharma, department of nuclear medicine; Dr Rakesh Kochhar, professor, department of gastroenterology; Dr Pallab Ray, microbiologist were my partners in this effort,” he said. According to Dr Bhattacharya, the work has been selected for innovative medical research awards at international conferences in Europe and US. Dr Bhattacharya said, “I want this labelling technique to be used and exploited by other medical centres too. We have received a positive response from AIIMS and other places showing an interest in using this technique for more accurate diagnosis of infections. Efforts for the expansion of this technique countrywide are on.” “I would like to emphasize here that we do not always need to import the costly equipments and techniques from abroad. With innovation and collaborative efforts we can develop good techniques in the country itself by making use of whatever resources are available with us. It would save precious time and money in addition to our goal of providing medical treatment to one and all,” he concluded.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 08:37:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015