U of S vet school first in Canada to have PET-CT

The University of Saskatchewan (U of S) is now home to Canada’s only PET-CT unit dedicated to animals.

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) celebrated the official opening of the Allard-Roozen Imaging Suite on Friday.

The suite’s construction and purchase of the PET-CT scanner was made possible by a $2.5-million donation from Cathy Roozen, an Alberta businesswoman and philanthropist.

Dean of the college Dr. Douglas Freeman said the imaging tool can more accurately diagnose medical conditions, like cancers, than standard imaging tools.

“PET CT is just an amazing diagnostic tool,” said Freeman. “(The machine can) much more accurately determine how big (tumour cells) are, how rapidly they’re growing, changes and so forth.”

Just steps away from the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, which supplies medical radioisotopes used in PET technology, he added the U of S is an ideal location for the facility.

Freeman said the medical community as whole will benefit from the technology because the research from clinical trials on animals will further the ongoing work on improving medical treatments for people.

“Dogs live in the same environment we do — they get the same spontaneous cancers that we do,” she explained. “Often, treating our animal patients becomes a window into potentially new treatments for people.”

Freeman said they’re currently in talks with the Saskatchewan Health Authority about expanding access to allow human scans.