An agreement on the construction of Iran’s 1,000-bed nuclear hospital in Velayat Park in southwest Tehran , has been signed by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ministry of Health and the Tehran Municipality, said Health Minister Hassan Hashemi.
The first specialized nuclear medicine hospital in the Middle East will be equipped with modern technology to provide radiotherapy services. Varieties of centrifuges will also be installed to diagnose and determine the severity and treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancers, heart diseases, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurological disorders and other abnormalities.
As nuclear medicine can pinpoint molecular activity in the body, it offers the potential to identify early onset of diseases as well as a patient’s immediate response to therapeutic interventions. The main objective of the project is to promote the application of radioisotopes in medical care, ISNA reported.
Iran has 150 nuclear medicine centers across the country that provide services to over one million patients annually. Hashemi said the hospital is expected to be completed in 48 months and it would be fully equipped within three years. Nevertheless, the timely completion of the project depends on coordination between the Parliament and the government, he added.
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the AEOI, said the $300 million hospital is one of its most prestigious projects and once operational, there would be no need for patients to seek treatment abroad.
The infrastructure required would be produced locally. “With the establishing of a research center, we will be able to build equipment for the hospital.”
He censured the “domineering mentality” in some western capitals that allege Tehran is secretly developing a nuclear weapon under the guise of its nuclear energy program despite the fact that Iran has “repeatedly emphasized that nuclear technology for medical purposes is one of the key objectives.
The issue of radio medicine and nuclear medicine for cancer patients in Iran has been shrouded in misunderstanding and suspicion due to claims by unfriendly governments.
“Our duty is to provide the public with radiotherapy at home instead of traveling abroad,” Salehi stressed.
