The company’s initiative comes after a report from the Intercollegiate Standing Committee on Nuclear Medicine warned of a shortage of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners and skilled staff in the United Kingdom.

In response, Alliance Medical is leading the way in funding improvements that are available to all patients – NHS and private. The company is providing fixed site and mobile PET scanning, together with greater training opportunities for technicians and medical staff.

Dr Andy Dun, Medical Director of Alliance Medical said: “Our actions alone have recently increased PET services in the UK by 40 per cent. It is disappointing that PET examinations are carried out on fewer that 15 per cent of those patients who could benefit. There is a substantial body of evidence supporting the need for scanners, but making them available will take time through normal channels”.

”The report states that PET scanners should be either government or privately funded, or a combination of the two. The NHS may not be able to afford improvements, but nevertheless, we will press on with our initiatives and work hard to meet the aims of this very important report for the benefit of all patients.”

The Standing Committee highlighted the lack of a national strategy and called for each cancer network in the UK to have access to a PET scanner, the most advanced machine for the diagnosis of cancers. There are more than 80 such systems in Germany, whilst Belgium has 14. Great Britain has just 6 Clinical PET scanners.

Alliance Medical, in response to this need, has, since the start of 2003 completed the installation of two new PET scanners - one in Central London and the other in a mobile unit. The mobile system scanned its first clinical patients at the BMI Priory Hospital in Birmingham on 25 March. Other private and NHS units will shortly follow suit.

The PET/CT scanner in Bulstrode Place, London, close to Harley Street, is housed in the most advanced diagnostic imaging centre in Europe and has been scanning patients since the end of February.

In addition to PET/CT, the new centre houses the very latest technology, including High Speed 16 slice CT, Cardiac Optimised MR and CR X-Ray. It is the first time in Europe all these leading edge facilities have been openly offered to the medical profession under one roof.

Both mobile and central London sites are open to insured as well as NHS patient referrals.

Said Dr Dun: “We are very excited about these new developments. They signify a positive step towards improving the provision of PET across the United Kingdom.

“Our mobile PET service gives hospitals the opportunity to gain access to PET without the risk of significant capital investment. We are confident that these examples of customised, cost effective solutions will help towards encouraging the growth of PET.”

Apart from the equipment, Alliance Medical believes that the whole issue of staffing and training must be addressed. The company has already well established training programmes for MRI and CT, including Post Graduate Certificates. Plans are well advanced to offer similar programmes for PET training.