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Penang Adventist Hospital (PAH), one of over 600 Adventist hospitals around the world, launched the first full-fledged private Nuclear Medicine Center in Northern Malaysia on March 13, 2022.

This development marks the beginning of greater milestones for the hospital, offering various diagnostic and medical procedures as it expands its services to its patients.

A Nuclear Medicine Center is a facility that offers diagnostic and treatment procedures for certain kinds of illnesses, including diseases such as hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, lymphomas, bone pain as well as other types of cancer.

“We can now offer more treatment options and give our patients renewed hope,” said Richard Koh, Penang Adventist Hospital Chief Executive Officer. 

“The most exciting feature of the Nuclear Medicine Centre is the new SPECT/CT, which is going to be a game-changer for the diagnostic process for numerous medical fields, such as cardiology, orthopedics, oncology, endocrinology, nephrology, and more,” Koh added.

SPECT/CT is an acronym for Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography.  It is a nuclear diagnostics system that can combine two different types of scans to provide much more detailed and accurate information about how different parts of the body are working and to identify problems. (Resource: https://www.insideradiology.com.au/spect-ct-scan/)

“Coupled with the PET/CT machine, we will be able to provide comprehensive nuclear medicine imaging services to our patients,” Koh said during his speech at the launching ceremony at Penang Adventist Hospital.

PET/CT is a Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography. It uses small amounts of radioactive materials called radiotracers or radiopharmaceuticals, a special camera, and a computer to evaluate organ and tissue functions. By identifying changes at the cellular level, PET may detect the early onset of disease before other imaging tests can.

Alongside the launching of the Nuclear Medicine Center, Penang Adventist Hospital is also launching its Cancer Awareness Campaign which is designed to run for a year. With the theme, “Close the Gap”, the campaign aims to collaborate with twelve local assemblymen as Cancer Awareness Ambassadors. This campaign aims to educate the community about cancer and show ways how to prevent or manage the disease.  Attendees are urged to acquire as much knowledge they can throughout the campaign.  

To jumpstart the campaign, Penang Adventist Hospital is offering 30 free diagnostic scans to chosen patients from March to May. Funding for this campaign will come from the Penang Adventist Hospital Charity Fund.

Penang Adventist Hospital has long been internationally known as one of Malaysia’s leading medical tourism destinations for heart and pace-maker patients. In fact, Health-Tourism.com lists PAH at the top of their list. This new addition of nuclear medicine will expand the facility’s international arrivals even further. (Resource: https://www.health-tourism.com/medical-tourism-malaysia)

While Malaysia is not expected to re-open its borders to the international market on until April 1, Penang Adventist Hospital will prepare to accept both local and international patients for nuclear medicine treatments as soon as possible. 

Despite the pandemic, Penang Adventist Hospital remains resilient and has been able to perform well financially according to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Industry Blueprint 2021-2025.

The Penang Adventist Hospital is part of the huge network of Adventist Hospitals around the world operated by the Seventh-day Adventists. While PAH aims to provide the highest quality medical service, it is also determined to provide health education, disease prevention, and lifestyle modification education to the community. 

Edward Rodriguez and Christopher Tan, SSD Communication Department