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UFS needs PET/CT machine to improve management of patients

15 September 2022 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons

Dr Osayande Evbuomwan, Prof Willy Vangu and Dr Gerrit Engelbrecht — Dr Osayande Evbuomwan, nuclear medicine specialist and Senior Lecturer, left, and Dr Gerrit Engelbrecht, Clinical Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the UFS, right, with Prof Willy Vangu, Chief Specialist and Head of Nuclear Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand, after his lecture.

There is no doubt that an institution like the University of the Free State (UFS), with its calibre and pedigree, needs a PET/CT machine (medical-imaging device that simultaneously and clearly reveals both anatomical details and metabolic processes within the body), particular in oncology, in improving the management of patients.

This is according to Prof Willy Vangu, Chief Specialist and Head of Nuclear Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand, who was a guest lecturer on 8 September 2022 at the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the UFS.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a type of nuclear medicine imaging modality that measures the metabolic activity of the cells of body tissues. PET imaging is useful in the evaluation of patients with neurological, cardiac, infection, inflammation, and most importantly oncological conditions. Through its ability to detect metabolic changes very early, it can detect disease conditions that might not be easily detected on other forms of anatomical imaging.

Role of PET/CT in different clinical scenarios

In his lecture, Prof Vangu talked about the role of PET/CT in different clinical scenarios. By giving practical examples, he explained the role of PET/CT in different aspects of clinical medicine, including brain imaging for dementia, movement disorder and cerebrovascular reserve.

“Looking at dementia, we will focus on one of diseases that is today becoming a major source of health concern, Alzheimer's disease. The latest Alzheimer's report that was published in 2018 stated that there are 50 million individuals currently suffering from Alzheimer's. They forecast that in 30 years we are going to have more than 150 million people suffering from this disease. PET/CT imaging can identify very early the typical patterns associated with all the different types of dementias, including Alzheimer's disease…”

For cardiac application, Prof Vangu said there are so many indications for PET/CT in cardiac imaging. One of the most important is the assessment of myocardial viability, in patients who have suffered from cardiomyopathy due to ischemic heart disease. PET/CT offers a noninvasive method of identifying viable myocardium that would benefit from revascularisation, with a very high diagnostic accuracy.

Prof Vangu, who is also the head of nuclear medicine at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic and Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals as well as head of the department for radiation sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, said PET has been around for many years and is not something new. However, in clinical practice, PET imaging became significant with a breakthrough that occurred with the production of the glucose analogue tracer, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). This tracer in PET/CT imaging has revolutionised the management of cancer patients for the oncologist. It offers the ability of more accurate cancer staging, assessment of treatment response, assessment of disease recurrence and in some situations, surveillance. It has the ability to predict early which cancer patients will benefit from a particular drug, thereby giving the oncologist an idea on either to de-escalate treatment or change to a second line regimen very early on in the management.

An internet example of an image taken by a PET/CT machine. Photo for illustration: A PET/CT Imaging machine.

PET/CT came onto the market only in the year 2001, when it was launched for the first time by David Townsend (a physicist) and Ronald Nutt (electrical engineer). As at today, almost every institution in the country has at least one PET/CT machine.

“Looking at clinical applications, which is really the crux of the lecture today, there are so many clinical applications to talk about. You need a full week of a PET/CT symposium to go through all of them (and) maybe that might not even be enough. We can at least from this talk have an idea on how PET/CT can be applied in clinical medicine,” said Prof Vangu.

No other road for the university but to get a PET/CT machine

He also showed the impact and results that PET/CT imaging had in the management of infection and inflammation including TB. He said the role of PET/CT in TB is for monitoring of treatment, identification of extrapulmonary TB and prognosis.

In concluding his lecture, he said there is no other road for the university but to get a PET/CT machine. “There is no argument about it. The institution needs it to improve the management of patients, especially the oncology and cardiology patients. Confidently making the decision on which patients to treat, how to treat them, identifying and evaluating their true response to therapy requires a PET/CT machine.

“I am happy to hear that the policy- and decisions-makers in the province and the university are looking forward to having a PET/CT machine,” he said later.

Dr Osayande Evbuomwan, nuclear medicine specialist and Senior Lecturer, and Dr Gerrit Engelbrecht, Clinical Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the UFS, are both looking forward of having a PET/CT in the department because in addition to its use in clinical setting, it has a huge role to play in research and training postgraduate students, as PET/CT imaging makes up a huge chunk of the postgraduate training curriculum

News Archive

State-of-the-art physics equipment and investment in students result in academic success

2017-09-26

At the recent nanotechnology facility tour at the UFS,
were, from the left, Dr Mthuthuzeli Zamxaka, SAASTA;
Prof Hendrik Swart, Sarchi Chair in the Department of Physics;
and Xolani Makhoba, Department of Science and Technology.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Nanoscience, which is revealing new properties of very small arrangements of atoms, called nanoparticles, is opening a new world of possibilities. The Department of Physics at the University of the Free State is undertaking fundamental research with potential commercial applications. Its equipment and expertise is giving solid state physics research the edge in South Africa.

The UFS team of researchers and students are passionate about studying planets and atoms, all under one roof. Recently, the department, in collaboration with the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), hosted a nanotechnology facility tour to give the public, learners and the media the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the science of nanotechnology, its origins, potential applications and risks.

Successes of the department
According to Prof Hendrik Swart, Senior Professor in the Department of Physics, the increase in resources since 2008 is playing a big role in the success rate of its research outputs. The Sarchi Chair awarded to Prof Swart in 2012 (bringing with it funding for equipment and bursaries) also contributed to the successes in the department.

The UFS Directorate Research Development also availed funding that was used for bursaries. These bursaries made it possible for the department to appoint 10 post-doctoral fellows, not one of them originally from South Africa.

The investment in people and equipment resulted in researchers and students publishing some 80 articles in 2016. Their work was also cited more than 900 times by other researchers in that year.

Another highlight in terms of the department’s growth in the past 10 years is the new wing of the Physics Building. Physics at the UFS is the only place in sub-Saharan Africa where state-of-the art equipment is found under one roof.

Antonie Fourie, Junior Lecturer in the UFS Department of
Physics, explained to a group of delegates and
members of the media the workings of an electron beam
evaporation system.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Application of research
The department is a unique research facility with equipment that includes the X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (for the study of atoms), the Scanning Auger Microscope, as well as the Ion Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (revealing the chemical bonds in a sample, and drawing maps of the positions of atoms).

One of the areas on which the department is focusing its research, is phosphors. Researchers are exploring light emitting diodes (LEDs) which use less energy, are brighter and provide a wider viewing field. They are also looking into LED displays (LCDs) which are used in flat screens – the phosphors create the different colours and backlighting.

The research on solar cells reveals that phosphors can increase their efficiency by increasing the range of light frequencies which can be converted into electricity. Glow-in-the-dark coatings absorb light in the day and emit it later so cells can charge at night. As glow-in-the-dark phosphors become cheaper and more effective, they can be used as a lighting substitute on the walls of houses, street numbers and stop signs.

Video production of the Department of Physics research and equipment

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