New PET Centre celebrates official opening at St Thomas'

The newly refurbished PET Centre at St Thomas’ Hospital will be officially opened on Friday 26th September during an event including a variety of speakers and guests from across the Imaging Sciences. The Centre’s refurbishment forms part of the revolution at St Thomas’ in disease diagnosis using state of the art imaging technology.

 “The new centre will allow us to pursue diagnostic and research imaging at the highest level, all in the very heart of London”, said Professor Alexander Hammers, Professor of Imaging and Neuroscience at King’s College London and Head of the PET Imaging Centre. “This will make a difference to the fast and accurate treatment of patients in London and from further afar”.

The Centre will be opened by Professor Michael O’Doherty, former Head of the PET Imaging Centre, who has watched it become a vital part of St Thomas’ and the imaging world, as well as Professor Edward Byrne, Principal of King’s College London, and Sir Hugh Taylor, Chairman of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust.

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is an imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image of functional processes in the body. Combining PET with CT (Computed Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) allows for hybrid imaging, which is increasingly being used particularly with cancer patients. PET-CT enables timely diagnosis, aiding patient management and reducing waiting times.

 “Having the new scanners offers the opportunity to reduce the radiation dose for scanning patients at the same time as reducing scan times and improving scan quality”, said Gary Cook, Professor of Clinical PET Imaging at King’s College London and Head of Cancer Imaging.

The PET Imaging Centre, jointly funded by King’s College London, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust and the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, includes two PET-CT Scanners and a brand new PET-MR scanner, the second of its kind in the UK to date. The new facilities are designed to improve the patient experience and are located alongside Radiology and Nuclear Medicine.  The new machines have enabled shorter scan times for patients, lower radiation doses, and reduced waiting times, with all urgent cases now being scanned within 24-48 hours.

The PET Centre Redevelopment Project is a joint major investment by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust to revolutionise PET Imaging facilities at St. Thomas’ Hospital. Phase One is now complete. Phase Two involves the construction of a new, second, cyclotron, hot cells and associated equipment capable of producing a range of imaging tracers to enable enhanced diagnostic care and improved research capability. The facility will be based in the space vacated by the original PET facility on the lower ground floor of the hospital. The aim is to have this completed in 2016. 

These facilities will move a nationally and internationally recognised unit with true integration of research and service to the next level. Patient experience has already improved and is now rated 10/10 for most aspects. The new scanners, capacity and state-of-the-art capabilities will help keeping the PET Centre at the forefront of imaging research.”