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PET scanner construction moves to next phase

HSN given permission to move to Stage 4, with a goal of starting construction in 2018
hsn_pet_suite
This architectural drawing shows the future location of Health Sciences North's PET scanner suite with the stilts supporting the suite identified in yellow. The Ontario Ministry of Health has approved plans for the next stage of building the PET scanner at Health Sciences North. (File)

The Ontario Ministry of Health has approved plans for the next stage of building the PET scanner at Health Sciences North, a source told Sudbury.com Friday.

A letter sent to HSN says the ministry has reviewed the hospital’s Stage 3 plans for the scanner, and has given them permission to move on to Stage 4.

Stage 4 involves work drawings and specifications for the facility that must be built to house the scanner. It will be housed in the Nuclear Imaging Department, located on Level 2 of the hospital's Lougheed (South) Tower. 

Local fundraising efforts have raised the $3.5 million needed to buy the scanner, and the province has pledged the $1.6 million needed in annual operating funding.

The province has also promised to pay $4.6 million for the construction of the PET scanner suite. The 3,800 square-foot building will require extra thick – at least 37 cm – concrete walls to prevent radiation from leaking into other parts of the hospital and will be built on stilts.

Positron emission tomography (PET) scanners allow oncologists to detect certain types of cancer earlier — and better manage patients treatment plans. 

The late Sam Bruno campaigned for the high-tech equipment in an effort to ensure local cancer patients such as himself had access to the best care locally. Bruno passed away in 2010, and members of his family and supporters took up the fight.

The province announced in 2015 they would fund the annual operating costs for the scanner. A year ago, the Sam Bruno committee announced it had raised the $3.5 million, the same time the province announced it would fund the construction of the PET scanner building.

In recent weeks, the NDP and Progressive Conservative parties have accused the government of delaying the scanner until 2019.

Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault denied there was a delay and said the process was working as quickly as possible. On Friday, a source told Sudbury.com that the province is hoping to complete the Stage 4 process as quickly as possible.

The next step is for submission and review of the specifications. Construction can begin as soon as that process is complete, possibly as early as the first quarter of 2018. 


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