How our collaboration with Mount Vernon helps us minimise disruption caused by radiopharmaceutical shortages.
At Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, PET-CT scans play a vital role in diagnosing and monitoring cancer. However, in recent months, a nationwide shortage of radiopharmaceuticals – the radioactive substances used in these scans – has posed a serious challenge.
Thanks to a new scanner and an innovative collaboration between us and Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, we have been able to keep services running and minimise disruption for patients.
“Radiopharmaceutical supply is now the worst it’s ever been,” says Suzannah Patel, PET-CT Superintendent. “Some weeks, every single day, we face dose disruption – either batch failures or long waits for quality checks.” The problem stems from our need to use old cyclotrons – particle accelerators for generating radiopharmaceuticals which were not built to supply the amount of radioactive tracer required in 2025. They were built over 20 years ago. New generators were due to be commissioned 2 years ago but were unfortunately delayed. At the same time, scanner upgrades carried out in many hospitals have drastically increased the number of patients being scanned, further adding to the pressure on supplies.
Despite these setbacks, Paul Strickland Scanner Centre has found a way to adapt. A new PET-CT scanner, installed in May 2024 and made possible by the generosity of our donors and supporters, has transformed what’s possible. “It’s significantly more sensitive than our previous scanners,” says Patel. “That means we can inject less radiopharmaceutical and still obtain high-quality images. Patients receive a lower radiation dose, and we can stretch our limited supply further.”
Gerry Lowe, Clinical Scientist at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, explains some of the new scanner’s advantages: “The new scanner uses continuous bed motion, which means we can scan the whole patient smoothly rather than in chunks. It’s faster and produces clearer images.
The detector crystals and electronics are also much more advanced, allowing us to optimise both image quality and scan speed.”
This optimisation has led to the development of a new protocol that we call the “low-dose alternative scanning technique.” Patel says, “If we receive less radiopharmaceutical than expected, we can inject between 50% and 90% of the usual amount and simply scan the patient for longer.
It’s not something we do lightly – it has to be approved by a PET consultant radiologist – but it means we can avoid cancelling appointments.” Lowe adds: “For the same image quality, you can inject less and scan longer. It’s a balancing act, but the new scanner makes it possible.”
The impact on patients is significant. “Since introducing this new protocol, we have managed to reduce the number of patients being cancelled due to radiopharmaceutical batch failure. This means fewer delays in diagnosis and treatment for more patients.”
The improvements aren’t just technical – they’re clinical too. “The resulting images are much clearer,” says Patel. “Radiologists love them. Compared to older scanners, the difference is huge. We’re seeing better detection rates and fewer false positives, which is especially important in oncology.”
The Centre’s PET-CT service supports patients with a wide range of cancers, including lymphoma, lung, breast, prostate and colorectal. “We’re also seeing much younger patients being referred,” notes Patel. “It’s probably a combination of rising incidence and better access to scanning.” Collaboration has been key to these advances. “Suzannah and I are going to a national meeting in November,” says Lowe. “It’s a tightknit community. We share what we’ve learned and pick up tips from other centres. There’s a national shortage of clinical scientists, so if someone’s already optimised a protocol, there’s no point reinventing the wheel.”
Thanks to the dedication of the team and the generosity of supporters, Paul Strickland Scanner Centre is staying ahead of the curve – even in the face of national supply challenges. “If we didn’t have this new scanner,” says Lowe, “we’d be turning away a lot more patients. It’s made a huge difference.”
