The Government of Argentina formalized the transfer of the Center of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Therapy Patagonia Austral to the province of Santa Cruz. It was designed, built and equipped by the National Atomic Energy Commission and INVAP with an investment of 510 million pesos (18.28 Million USD).
The act was held in the city of Río Gallegos and the Governor of the Province, Alicia Kirchner; Undersecretary of Nuclear Energy, Julián Gadano – on behalf of the Minister of Energy of the Nation, Javier Iguacel – the Vice President of the CNEA, Alberto Lamagna and the General Manager of INVAP, Vicente Campenni.
The CNEA will now contribute its knowledge and experience in the field of nuclear medicine, from the advice and training to the campus that will operate it, to the standardization of the level of benefits with national parameters.
The Southern Patagonia Center will diagnose and serve the community of Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego and the Chilean Magellanic Region and will start working in the coming months after finishing the start-up of the state-of-the-art equipment, consisting of a diagnostic area and nuclear medicine, an area of treatment and radiotherapy and another of chemotherapy, with all its corresponding laboratories, offices and adjoining rooms.
It is estimated that this will allow the detection of 1,500 new cases of cancer in the region per year, of which 700 may receive care and complete their diagnostic and treatment practice in the same Center, which will be administered by a Foundation created by the Government of Santa Cruz.
Nuclear medicine is a technological field where Argentina has always been at the forefront in the region, positioning the country as an exporter of nuclear technology and bringing science and innovation to improve the quality of life of the population.
