Ministers inaugurate first medical cyclotron unit at Luxor hospital

Egypt's local development and social solidarity ministers inaugurated the first medical cyclotron unit at Shifa Al-Orman hospital in Luxor on Saturday.

• Local Development Minister Manal Awad and Social Solidarity Minister Maya Morsi inaugurated the cyclotron unit at Shifa Al-Orman hospital in Luxor on Saturday.
• The unit produces short-lived radioactive isotopes used in PET-CT scans for early cancer detection, the first such facility in Upper Egypt.
• Executive director Hani Hussein said the unit produces isotopes locally, resolving the half-life problem of transporting the material from Cairo.
• Social Solidarity Minister Maya Morsi said patients will no longer be forced to travel hundreds of kilometers for advanced cancer services.
• The unit aims to offer PET-CT scans and cancer treatments free of charge, officials said.