The cabinet, on Friday, November 28, approved a partnership agreement that will see nuclear medicine introduced in Rwanda. Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers, to diagnose and treat diseases by observing physiological functions and cellular activity inside the body. The radiotracers are injected, swallowed, or inhaled, and their distribution is detected by a special camera that creates images of the inside of the body. The new agreement for the introduction of nuclear medicine was signed between Rwanda and Aegle Onco Care Center Ltd, a Mauritian health services institution. According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the nuclear medicine capabilities will be established at the Rwanda Military Hospital. Nuclear medicine employs technologies like the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan machine, an advanced medical imaging device for detecting diseases like cancer. In March, Ministry of Health officials said that such a scan will be introduced in the country by the end of the year. The PET scan works by injecting patients with small amounts of radioactive substances, which travel to areas of abnormal activity in the body. This allows doctors to detect conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and neurological disorders at earlier and more treatable stages.
