Eslami: 1.5 Million Patients Use Nuclear Medicine Services Each Year
TEHRAN -- More than 1.5 million patients across Iran use diagnostic and therapeutic products developed by the country’s Atomic Energy Organization each year, its chief Muhammad Eslami said on Sunday.
Speaking at a ceremony marking Doctors’ Day in Iran’s nuclear industry, Eslami said nuclear medicine has become an important part of healthcare services, with the organization’s products also exported to several countries.
He said facilities producing nuclear medicine-related materials have been among the sites targeted in attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran’s peaceful nuclear infrastructure.
“The first target attacked by missiles and bombing was the plate-fuel production plant at the Isfahan site,” Eslami said, referring to the facility that produces fuel required by the Tehran Research Reactor.
He said the reactor is primarily used for research and for activities related to the production of radiopharmaceuticals.
Eslami also said a production line for oxygen-18 at the Khondab complex had been targeted. Oxygen-18 is used in the production of materials required for PET scans.
He described the targeting of the facilities as evidence of the adversaries’ approach toward Iran, saying the attacks targeted scientific capabilities and achievements directly connected to public health.
“Today, more than 1.5 million patients throughout the country use the Atomic Energy Organization’s diagnostic and therapeutic products annually,” Eslami said, adding that the products are also exported to various countries.
He said the use of new treatment methods remains a priority for Iran as the country advances its scientific and technological capabilities.
Eslami highlighted cold plasma technology as a new area of medical research, saying Iranian researchers’ achievements in the field have opened a promising new path in healthcare.
He said plasma technology has progressed beyond research and is already being used in medical treatment.
“More than 20 wound clinics across the country” are currently using the technology, Eslami said, adding that it is being used in the treatment of cancer and to help alleviate patients’ pain.
Eslami said the main remaining challenge is to shorten the commercialization process and accelerate the transition from the preclinical to clinical stage so that the services could become more widely available.
He said investment and a memorandum of cooperation between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the Health Ministry and Iran University of Medical Sciences has opened a new phase in developing and applying the technology.