PET scans at Mater Dei postponed due to production problems in Italy

Patients being informed their appointment for a PET scan has been postponed

24 March 2015, 9:24pm

1 min read

Production problems in Italy have caused the postponement of scheduled PET scan at Mater Dei Hospital.

Malta procures its radioisotope tracer from a facility in Italy, a special chemical used during PET scans. Hospital CEO Ivan Falzon said that the chemical must be used on the same day it is brought to Malta and therefore it can't be stored overnight.

A positron emission tomography (PET) scan can show how body tissues are working, as well as how they look like. It can help diagnose and stage a cancer.

According to Falzon, Italian engineers were working on the site facility in Italy to solve the problem.

Falzon said the hospital was currently contacting the patients to inform them of the situation.