Local

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Ottawa provides $7.46 million to medical isotopes program

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 02/28/2013 12:06 PM | Comments: 0

The local health and sciences community received a $7.46-million boost from the federal government today.

The boost from Natural Resources Canada will be put towards an $11.7-million program that will provide a safer and more affordable way to produce medical isotopes.

The program, known as the Prairie Isotope Production Enterprise or "PIPE", is a partnership of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, Health Sciences Centre, and the University of Winnipeg.

Medical isotopes are used in medical imaging in order to diagnose a patient, and usually produced in nuclear reactors. This program will instead produce the isotopes using linear accelerators.

"The isotope supply from the two principal nuclear reactors in Canada and the Netherlands is unreliable and adds an unacceptable supply risk to Canadian patients," said Dr. Kennedy Mang’era, director of radiopharmacy at the Health Sciences Centre, in a press release. "Linear accelerator technology is an innovative, inexpensive and environmental friend approach to isotope production."

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.