A NORTH-EAST hospital is the first in the UK to install a new type of hybrid scanner which will be used to plan complex radiotherapy cancer treatment.

The Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC) at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle is now using a state-of-the-art ‘SPECT CT’ scanner .

The machine combines the best aspects of two different types of scanning in a single piece of equipment and produces images which can be used for both diagnosis, and as a means of helping to plan complex radiotherapy treatments.

By using SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) radiographers can obtain highly detailed anatomical information as well as information about the effect of radiotherapy on tumours.

The two sources of information when viewed as a combined image allow clinicians to understand, in greater detail than ever before, the anatomy and behaviour of a patient’s tumour and surrounding healthy tissues.

Dr George Petrides, clinical lead for Nuclear Medicine in Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, said: “The SPECT-CT scanner will allow us to more accurately identify lesions where previously we were less certain of their site or relevance.

"This will revolutionise the diagnostic pathway for patients in the North-East and Cumbria, and allow for a more tailored and informed treatment pathway.”

Gill Lawrence, head of radiotherapy physics at NCCC, said: “When a patient requires radiotherapy, we need to identify the lesion to be treated as accurately as possible.

"Previously for some patients we would have used two techniques separately, one scan using a gamma camera and then another using a CT scanner.

"Now, with this new machine; the scans can be done during a single appointment on one piece of equipment and integrated with one another”.

One day a week the new scanner is being used by research radiographers with patients who are taking part in cancer drug trials.

Most referrals are from the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre at NCCC.

Professor Ruth Plummer, honorary consultant oncologist and director of the centre, said: “This new scanner is yet another world class piece of equipment that we now have in Newcastle, to support the research we do, to find better treatments for patients.”