Scotland’s first total-body scanner is set to accelerate drug development and diagnosis for patients, with scans up to 40 times more sensitive than existing machines.
The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner will capture images of patients’ entire bodies 10 times faster, in more detail and using less radiation than existing scanners.
The scanner, co-managed by the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, is now in operation at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
National platform
The machine forms part of the National PET Imaging Platform (NPIP), run by the UK’s Medical Research Council, Innovate UK and Medicines Discovery Catapult.
NPIP’s national network, which includes a second scanner in London, will allow clinicians, industry and researchers to collaborate on an international scale.
Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, will facilitate collaborations, alongside the NPIP.
This expanded network will improve patient care in Scotland, enhancing diagnosis and treatment for cancer and cardiovascular disease as well as exploring new potential applications, such as stroke and endometriosis, experts say.
Many of the great medical discoveries of the last century have roots in Scotland.
Edinburgh’s new total body scanner will help more patients to live longer, healthier lives through earlier detection, faster diagnoses and more effective treatment in complex illnesses like cancer, dementia and heart disease for years to come.
Backing our top researchers with cutting edge technology will be key to the next medical breakthroughs that improve lives and drive the economic growth at the heart of the UK Government’s Plan for Change.
Lord Vallance
Science Minister
Pioneering technology
PET scanning is a non-invasive imaging technique that can detect the early onset of disease.
Previous PET technology leaves large sections of the human body out of the field of view, requiring the patient to be repositioned multiple times to achieve a full-body view. The new technology can also allow more rapid scanning, increasing the throughput of patients.
The NPIP Scotland Total-body PET Facility is a transformative technology that has already started to advance clinical research and patient care, improving our understanding of complex diseases. Through the NPIP network, new collaborative projects will address some of the major unmet health problems that society faces today.
Professor David Newby
University of Edinburgh, Co-Director of the NPIP Scotland Centre
Total-Body PET scanners are a quantum leap forward in medical imaging technology, and we are proud to be part of a pioneering partnership between the University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and NHS Lothian, jointly managing one of the first of these cutting-edge scanners in the UK. The Scotland Total-Body PET scanner will serve as a catalyst for ground-breaking research and offers a unique window into our understanding of human diseases.
Dr David Lewis
University of Glasgow, Co-Director of the NPIP Scotland Centre
Drug development
The UK is driving the adoption of this game-changing technology through NPIP, attracting industry to trial new drugs in the region and inventors to develop and test world-class AI and diagnostic tools.
It also establishes a platform for the development of new precision radiopharmaceuticals – drugs containing radioactive forms of chemical elements, used in medical imaging and for cancer treatment – which is an area where the UK can regain a world-leading position, experts say.
The national platform we have created allows the combined power of technology and data to be harnessed, attracting industry to test their new treatments here in the UK for the benefit of our patients and our economy. It shows what’s possible when strategic public funding, clinical expertise, industry knowledge and academic excellence come together around a shared national purpose.
These revolutionary scanners help save lives and create large-scale capability for radiopharmaceuticals and AI-enabling datasets.
Professor Chris Molloy
Chief Executive of Medicines Discovery Catapult
NPIP is funded by a £32m investment from the UKRI Infrastructure Fund.
